Department for Transport

Bus Services: Combined Authorities

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Government plans to relax or amend the regulations relating to the introduction of bus franchising by non-mayoral combined authorities.

Jesse Norman: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 10 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Bus Services Act 2017 permits combined provides mayoral combined authorities with access to to apply for new franchising powers. Other authorities can also apply for franchising powers with approval from the Secretary of State, subject to the necessary regulations having been made under the new section 123A(4) of Part 2 of the Transport Act 2000. No such regulations have yet been made.The Government wants to see better local bus services for passengers across the country and will assist any local authority seeking to use the powers available to them under the Bus Services Act 2017 to secure improvements. We would also encourage authorities to work closely with local bus operators and passenger representatives to determine how to use the Act’s new powers to serve their local communities better.

Jesse Norman: The Bus Services Act 2017 permits combined provides mayoral combined authorities with access to to apply for new franchising powers. Other authorities can also apply for franchising powers with approval from the Secretary of State, subject to the necessary regulations having been made under the new section 123A(4) of Part 2 of the Transport Act 2000. No such regulations have yet been made.The Government wants to see better local bus services for passengers across the country and will assist any local authority seeking to use the powers available to them under the Bus Services Act 2017 to secure improvements. We would also encourage authorities to work closely with local bus operators and passenger representatives to determine how to use the Act’s new powers to serve their local communities better.

Bus Services: Combined Authorities

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government plans to take to support the introduction of bus franchising in non-mayoral combined authorities.

Jesse Norman: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 10 July 2017.The correct answer should have been:

The Bus Services Act 2017 permits combined provides mayoral combined authorities with access to  to apply for new franchising powers. Other authorities can also apply for franchising powers with approval from the Secretary of State, subject to the necessary regulations having been made under the new section 123A(4) of Part 2 of the Transport Act 2000. No such regulations have yet been made.The Government wants to see better local bus services for passengers across the country and will assist any local authority seeking to use the powers available to them under the Bus Services Act 2017 to secure improvements. We would also encourage authorities to work closely with local bus operators and passenger representatives to determine how to use the Act’s new powers to serve their local communities better.

Jesse Norman: The Bus Services Act 2017 permits combined provides mayoral combined authorities with access to  to apply for new franchising powers. Other authorities can also apply for franchising powers with approval from the Secretary of State, subject to the necessary regulations having been made under the new section 123A(4) of Part 2 of the Transport Act 2000. No such regulations have yet been made.The Government wants to see better local bus services for passengers across the country and will assist any local authority seeking to use the powers available to them under the Bus Services Act 2017 to secure improvements. We would also encourage authorities to work closely with local bus operators and passenger representatives to determine how to use the Act’s new powers to serve their local communities better.

Traffic Officers

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the trend in the number of specialist road traffic officers since 2015; and what steps his Department is taking to maintain the number of specialist road traffic officers.

Jesse Norman: The number of Highways England’s Traffic Officers since 2015 is as follows:2015: 14462016: 14392017: 1395There has been a decrease of 51 Traffic Officers between 2015 and 2017, which equates to 3.5%.The current total staff retention rate at Highways England is 92%, but they are not complacent. Their recruitment and selection process is being improved to include assessments that better reflect the role applicants would undertake as Traffic Officers to ensure it continues to keep and maintain sufficient staff numbers.

Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation

Anna Turley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government plans to publish its response to the consultation on the proposed changes to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation Order.

Jesse Norman: We plan to publish the Government’s response later this year. We recognise the need to provide the UK biofuel industry with certainty if it is to realise the industrial opportunities highlighted in the consultation. It is therefore our intention to implement changes to the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation as soon as possible.

Railways: Scotland

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Network Rail on the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme works.

Paul Maynard: This is a matter for the Scottish Government, who have executive devolved responsibilities in relation to the railway infrastructure in Scotland.

Railways: Fares

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions (a) he and (b) officials of his Department have had with (i) the Chancellor of  the Exchequer and (ii) officials of HM Treasury on rail fares policy since 13 June 2017.

Paul Maynard: There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State for Transport and the Chancellor of the Exchequer on Rail Fares policy since the 13 June 2017. Officials from the Department of Transport and HM Treasury officials have regular working level coordination meetings covering a range of issues including rail fares policy.

Railways: Noise

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with Network Rail on noise and vibration pollution caused by certain types of freight wagons in use on the rail network; and whether any changes to regulations (a) have been or (b) are under consideration to reduce noise and vibration pollution.

Paul Maynard: The Department frequently holds discussions with Network Rail about the environmental impact of the railway, including measures to mitigate noise and vibration. More widely, the UK has also been involved in discussions with the European Commission and other EU Member States about proposed changes to the Technical Specifications for Interoperability that deals with Noise and how this might apply to freight wagons. These discussions are still ongoing.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment the Government has made of the effectiveness of Network Rail's re-planning of Control Period 5.

Paul Maynard: The Office of Rail and Road is responsible for monitoring Network Rail’s performance and whether the company is complying with the obligations set out in its licence. This includes a twice-yearly publication through its Network Rail Monitor document.

Cycling: Oxfordshire

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has conducted a cost-benefit analysis on proposals to build a community cycle path along the B4044 from Eynsham to Botley.

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has conducted a cost-benefit analysis on proposals to build a cycle route from Oxford to Didcot.

Jesse Norman: No cost-benefit analysis has been carried out by the Department for these proposals. Decisions about which local transport schemes to fund are the responsibility of the relevant local authority.

South Eastern Rail Franchise

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress has been made towards an outcome for the Southeastern franchise.

Paul Maynard: The outcomes we are trying to achieve for the South Eastern franchise were stated in the public consultation document. We want more reliable services, longer trains and better customer service. The consultation has now closed and we are reviewing the responses. We will ensure the next franchise delivers the services that passengers want. On 22nd June my Department announced the four companies who expressed an interest in operating the service from December 2018.

Railways: Franchises

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the costs and benefits of rail franchising.

Paul Maynard: The benefits of franchising to passengers and taxpayers are clear. The private sector have invested billions in new trains. Government subsidy to the industry has reduced by £2.5bn over ten years. Whilst passenger numbers have doubled since privatisation. All this is on top of our ongoing £38bn investment in infrastructure. We always assess franchising decisions against the best interests of passengers and taxpayers.

Great Western Railway Line: Electrification

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress he has made on the electrification of the Great Western main line.

Paul Maynard: Electrification of the Great Western Mainline between Paddington and Maidenhead has been successfully delivered. This has enabled a peak hours electric service to be introduced between Maidenhead and Paddington on 22nd May this year, with more services introduced on 3 July.  As a result the first Turbo trains have been cascaded to the West of England, which also started operation on 3 July, providing a 35% increase in capacity on the Severn Beach Line and better passenger facilities providing early benefits to Bristol.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to reduce the level of emissions from road transport.

Jesse Norman: The Government will be publishing its air quality plan to tackle nitrogen dioxide emissions by the end of July. We also intend to publish our emissions reduction plan - setting out how we will reduce carbon emissions through the 2020s – once Parliament returns after the summer recess.

Motorways: Speed Limits

Mr Ranil Jayawardena: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to increase the national speed limit on motorways.

Jesse Norman: Any change to the speed limit would have to be based on a full and sound understanding of the wider safety, environmental and other impacts of such a change. A previous Government made an initial assessment of the possibility of introducing trials of 80 mph limits. A decision on whether to change the limit would be for this Government but we currently have no plans to do so.

Tyne and Wear Metro: Rolling Stock

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to make a decision on the new fleet for the Tyne and Wear Metro.

Jesse Norman: Departmental officials are in discussion with Nexus, the Tyne and Wear Metro, regarding their proposals for new rolling stock. Any decision will need to represent value for money and be affordable given the funding was not included in the Department’s Spending Review settlement in 2015.

Crossrail 2 Line

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to make a decision on the Crossrail 2 business case; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Maynard: The Department supports the need for the capacity improvements that Crossrail 2 could bring to London and the wider South East. We are currently analysing the business case to ensure it is a robust investment with a credible funding plan. Our next steps to deliver those capacity improvements will be decided when that analysis is complete.

Home Office

Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Jewish places of worship from each denomination had applied for funding under the Places of Worship Security Funding Scheme by 1 June 2017 in each region.

Sarah Newton: Jewish places of worship are unable to apply under the places of worship security scheme as a separate commitment was already in place to fund Jewish community sites via a grant administered through the Community Security Trust (CST).

Tools: Theft

Holly Lynch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of reported thefts of tools from trades vehicles has resulted in a prosecution in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Crown Prosecution Service does not maintain a central record of the number of people who have been prosecuted for offences of thefts of tools from trades vehicles. This information could only be obtained by examining Crown Prosecution Case files, which would incur disproportionate cost.

Radicalism: Internet

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to tackle provision of terrorist and extremist propaganda through social media, the internet and other online sources.

Sarah Newton: This Government has been clear there should be no safe space online for terrorists and their supporters to radicalise, recruit, incite, or inspire. The UK has been at the forefront of the online battle against extremist and terrorist material. The dedicated police Counter Terrorism Internet Referral Unit (CTIRU) refers content that they assess as contravening UK terrorism legislation to industry and have secured the removal of over 280,000 pieces of terrorist-related material since its inception in February 2010.This government continue to work with technology companies to encourage them to be more proactive in tackling terrorist material on the internet. Following a roundtable with the Home Secretary on 30 March 2017, Twitter, Facebook, Google and Microsoft announced they would look at options for establishing a global industry led forum specifically focussed on tackling online terrorist content. The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism was formally launched on 26 June 2017. We continue to engage regularly with industry and international partners to ensure the forum will have a truly sustained and positive impact in tackling the evolving online threat posed by terrorists.

Police and Crime Commissioners: Council Tax

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police and crime commissioners have used the full two per cent council tax precept in each financial year since 2012-13.

Mr Nick Hurd: Council tax referendum principles are set on an annual basis by the Communities Secretary. The council tax referendum principles report for 2017/18 is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/council-tax-referendum-principles-report-2017-to-2018 Council tax levels in England are published annually by the Department for Communities and Local Government and are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/council-tax-statistics Information for Wales is published by the Welsh Government at https://statswales.gov.wales/Catalogue/Local-Government/Finance/Council-Tax/Levels

Psychoactive Substances Act 2016

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the Psychoactive Substances Act.

Sarah Newton: Since the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 came into force, hundreds of retailers across the United Kingdom have either closed down or are no longer selling psychoactive substances; police have arrested suppliers; and action by the National Crime Agency has resulted in the removal of psychoactive substances being sold by UK based websites. In 2016, there were 28 convictions in England and Wales and seven people jailed under the new powers. Section 58 of the Act commits the Secretary of State to review the operation of the Act, prepare a report of the review, and lay a copy of the report before Parliament 30 months after the commencement of the Act. This review will therefore report its findings in late 2018. The Government’s review of the Psychoactive Substances Act will measure, as far as possible, any change in activity pre- and post- implementation by using, or developing, existing data sources. Since the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016 came into force, hundreds of retailers across the United Kingdom have either closed down or are no longer selling psychoactive substances; police have arrested suppliers; and action by the National Crime Agency has resulted in the removal of psychoactive substances being sold by UK based websites. In 2016, there were 28 convictions with seven offenders in England and Wales placed in immediate custody under the new powers.  Section 58 of the Act commits the Secretary of State to review the operation of the Act, prepare a report of the review, and lay a copy of the report before Parliament 30 months after the commencement of the Act. This review will therefore report its findings in late 2018. The Government’s review of the Psychoactive Substances Act will measure, as far as possible, any change in activity pre- and post- implementation by using, or developing, existing data sources.

Fuels: Theft

Kit Malthouse: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) reports, (b) prosecutions and (c) convictions there have been for drive-off forecourt fuel theft in each of the last five years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The information requested is not held centrally. The Home Office collects data on the number of making off without payment offences recorded by the police in England and Wales, but it is not possible to tell from these data whether the offence was forecourt fuel theft. Information on the number of making off without payment offences recorded by the police are published by the Office for National Statistics and can be found here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/releases/crimeinenglandandwalesyearendingdec2016 The Home Office does not hold information on the number of offences that led to conviction. Data on prosecutions and convictions are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.

Police: Finance

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish her response to the letter of 20 June 2017 she received from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner on police resources; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is not our policy to comment on or publish replies to correspondence.

Police: Finance

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police forces have (a) made applications to her Department for additional funding and (b) been granted funding from the Police Special Grant in (i) 2015, (ii) 2016 and (iii) 2017.

Mr Nick Hurd: I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 10 July 2017, question number 2692.

Public Buildings: Fire Prevention

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish, for each fire and rescue service in England, the number of fire and rescue service officers who have been dedicated to inspecting and auditing buildings under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08, (d) 2008-09, (e) 2009-10, (f) 2010-11, (g) 2011-12, (h) 2012-13, (i) 2013-14, (j) 2014-15 and (k) 2015-16.

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish the number of fire and rescue service officers who have been dedicated to inspecting and auditing buildings under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08, (d) 2008-09, (e) 2009-10, (f) 2010-11, (g) 2011-12, (h) 2012-13, (i) 2013-14, (j) 2014-15 and (k) 2015-16.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is the responsibility of each fire and rescue authority to manage its prevention, protection and operational resources to effectively address risks within their communities.

Immigration

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for permanent residence are processed each day by her Department.

Brandon Lewis: There is no published data which provides the information for the number of applications for permanent residence processed on a daily basis.  Statistics on outcomes of applications for documents certifying permanent residence for European Union (EU) nationals are published quarterly in the Immigration Statistics. These include data for documents issued, refusals and applications deemed invalid and hence rejected. The most recent edition (Immigration Statistics January to March 2017, European Economic Area data table ee_02_q,) is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/615174/eea-jan-mar-2017-tables.ods

Police: Sick Leave

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the number of days sickness absence for police officers in each force in the last 12 months.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not hold the information requested centrally. The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of police officers on long term sick absence as at 31st March each year, by police force area, in the annual ‘Police workforce’ statistical bulletin, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales  The Home Office also collects information on the number of police officers on short/medium term sick absence as at 31st March each year, by police force area. This information is published by HMIC in their Value for Money profiles, available here: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmic/our-work/value-for-money-inspections/value-for-money-profiles/

Terrorism: Greater Manchester

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate her Department has made of the proportion of the police effort in response to the Manchester terrorist attack funded by the ring-fenced counter-terrorism budget; and what the total cost to Greater Manchester Police was of the response to that attack.

Mr Ben  Wallace: For reasons of national security we do not publically disclose the detailed allocation of funding for counter terrorism by force area or by capability. We are already working closely with policing, including with Greater Manchester Police and the Metropolitan Police Service, to help manage the cost of the immediate response to the recent attacks. Greater Manchester Police has indicated that they will be making a Special Grant claim in relation to the additional policing costs incurred as a result of the terrorist attack at Manchester Arena. Once this has been received, Ministers will consider it carefully and respond as soon as practicable.

Fire and Rescue Services: Staff

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many technical inspectors were employed by each fire authority in each year since 2004.

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many on-site inspectors were employed in each fire authority in each year since 2004.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally collect information on the number of technical and on-site inspectors.

Cybercrime

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to help the public to protect themselves against the threat of cyber-crime.

Mr Ben  Wallace: Cyber security, including cyber crime, is a top priority threat to national security. This is why the National Cyber Security Strategy 2016-2021 is supported by £1.9billion of transformational investment. The NCSP funds the Cyber Aware campaign which works with a range of public and private sector partners to encourage the public (and Small and Medium Enterprises) to adopt more secure online behaviour like using a strong separate password for your email account and downloading the latest software updates. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was launched on 1 October 2016. The Centre provides a single, central body for cyber security at a national level. It will help make the UK the safest place to live and do business online and acts as a bridge between industry and government, providing a unified source of advice and support on cyber security, including the management of cyber security incidents. The NCSC are developing a series of Active Cyber Defence measures, to be implemented by industry, that aim to automatically protect UK internet users from the vast majority of high-volume/ low–sophistication cyber attacks. These measures will block, disrupt and neutralise malicious cyber activity before it reaches users. The UK Government can’t do this alone. The private sector has a crucial role and a responsibility in countering cyber crime so that the UK is one of the safest places to do business online and in which the public are protected.

Crime

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times each police force has declared a critical incident due to the volume of calls it is receiving in each year from 2010 to date.

Mr Nick Hurd: Responding to calls and their classification is an operational matter for the police.

Human Trafficking

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2017 to Question 1480, on human trafficking, if she will place in the Library a copy of the data used by the National Crime Agency in making its assessment of the nature and scale of modern slavery in the UK.

Sarah Newton: The data used by the National Crime Agency to make its assessment of the nature and scale of modern slavery in the UK as published in the 2017 National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crime is based on classified intelligence sources and cannot therefore be made available.The quantitative assessment of the overall scale of modern slavery in the UK quoted in this publication refers to a 2014 Home Office estimate which is publically available on the Gov.uk website via the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/modern-slavery-an-application-of-multiple-systems-estimation

Visas

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in what proportion of settlement visa application cases for which a 10-day priority service has been paid for a decision has been made within 10 days in each of the last 10 years.

Brandon Lewis: The information you have requested is not included in statistics published by the Home Office.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were transported to a place of safety under the Mental Health Act 1983 by (a) ambulance and (b) police vehicle in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The information requested is not held centrally.The method of transportation used to take people detained under section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 was included in experimental data collected from 15 police forces for the Home Office publication ‘Police Powers and Procedures, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2016’. The publication indicated that for half of all detentions under section 136 in 2015-16, the person detained was transported to a place of safety in a police vehicle and in a further 49% of cases the person was transported in an ambulance.Data on the method of transportation used has been included in a mandatory annual data request to all police forces for the year 2016-17 on the use of sections 135 and 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, for publication by the Home Office this Autumn.

Police: Pay

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, on what date she plans to respond to the recommendation of the Police Pay Review Body for 2017-18.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government has great respect for the unique and vital role that police officers play in fighting crime and protecting the public and it is important that they are appropriately remunerated. That is why we created the independent Police Remuneration Review Body to make annual recommendations on the appropriate level of pay and allowances. We are considering very carefully the latest recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body and the Senior Salaries Review Body and will publish our decision in due course.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to paragraph 6 of her Department's policy paper, Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether applicants for settled status will be required to pass the citizenship test.

Brandon Lewis: Applicants for settled status after EU exit will not be required to pass a citizenship test.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Euratom

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the UK withdrawing from Euratom on energy production in the UK.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



The Department is working closely across Government and with industry to assess this. Around 20% of the UK’s electricity comes from nuclear power. In order to ensure the continued success of the civil nuclear industry and nuclear energy production, a Bill to establish a domestic nuclear safeguards regime was included in the Queen’s Speech. This is being taken forward as a matter of urgency alongside other measures also being implemented, including international negotiations. The UK secured agreement with the EU that a Euratom Working Group should commence negotiations this month as a priority. The Government is determined that the UK continues to meet its international safeguards, and nuclear non-proliferation obligations and support its thriving nuclear industry.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy: Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps his Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

Margot James: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office on 11 July 2017 to Question UIN 3079.

Energy: Prices

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what representations he has had from Ofgem on the timescale for the (a) publication of measures to protect vulnerable consumers with an extension of the pre-payment meter safeguard tariff and (b) implementation of such measures; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Harrington: Holding answer received on 11 July 2017



The CEO of Ofgem wrote to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State on 3 July setting out his intention to consider options to protect vulnerable consumers including extending the protection in place for pre-payment meter customers. In the letter Ofgem stated it will move forward urgently to implement any changes. As a first step Ofgem plans to hold a summit with consumers groups this month.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent discussions he has had with the automotive manufacturing industry.

Claire Perry: We have frequent conversations with key stakeholders in the automotive sector, including through our partnership with the Automotive Council.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps the Government is taking to support the British automotive industry after the UK leaves the EU.

Claire Perry: Holding answer received on 13 July 2017



The Department works closely with the UK automotive industry to understand the impacts and opportunities of leaving the EU. The Government will continue its longstanding programme of support for the sector’s competitiveness. We are determined to ensure that the UK continues to be one of the most competitive locations in the world for automotive and advanced manufacturing. This includes seeking a tariff and barrier-free comprehensive free trade deal in goods and services with the EU for a new, mutually beneficial customs agreement that allows cross-border trade to be as frictionless as possible

Parental Leave: Multiple Births

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment the Government has made of the adequacy of the length of maternity and paternity leave of parents who have multiple births.

Margot James: The UK’s maternity leave arrangements are among the most generous in the world. All employed mothers are entitled to up to 52 weeks of maternity leave and most are entitled to 39 weeks of statutory pay - nearly three times the minimum required by the EU. This provides mothers with sufficient leave to cope with unexpected eventualities including ill health and complications associated with multiple births. Employers must also allow their pregnant employees paid time off work for all antenatal care. A pregnant woman expecting a multiple birth will therefore be entitled to sufficient time off work to attend additional antenatal appointments as required. Paternity Leave provisions give the father/partner some flexibility in when to take up to two weeks of leave, subject to eligibility. Fathers/partners also have other employment rights which can support them in adjusting to challenging circumstances such as multiple births. These include the right to emergency leave (time off for dependents), the right to Parental Leave (which extends to all employed parents) and a right to time off work to attend up to two antenatal appointments.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Gibraltar: Territorial Waters

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he last met with representatives of the Spanish Government to discuss incursions into Gibraltarian waters by Spanish vessels.

Sir Alan Duncan: Both the Prime Minster and the Foreign Secretary have made publicly clear that the UK will continue to protect and promote Gibraltar’s interests. The Royal Navy challenges all maritime incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and my Department backs this up by making formal diplomatic protests to the Spanish government. Officials in Madrid meet regularly with their Spanish counterparts to raise our specific concerns.

Ascension Island: Aviation

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the effect on British citizens resident in Ascension Island of the delayed commencement of repair work to the Wideawake Airfield.

Sir Alan Duncan: There has been no delay to the commencement of refurbishment of the runway at Wideawake Airfield which is due to start in 2018. The MOD continue to work with the US to agree the final design solution. Repairs are ongoing. In recent months the runway deteriorated far more quickly than had been anticipated. This made it unsafe for the heavier aircraft that had been flying regularly from the UK to land on Ascension. We recognise the impact this is having on those on the island and we are working hard to scope alternative air access options. The Minister for the Overseas Territories spoke to Ascension Island councillors to discuss this issue on Friday 7 July.

India: British Nationals Abroad

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the Government of India on behalf of the six ex-Army personnel being held in Chennai Jail.

Mark Field: As we have throughout this case, we continue to raise the case with the Indian authorities at all levels. The case was most recently raised by the Prime Minister with Indian Prime Minister Modi at the G20 in Hamburg last week.We understand the impact the separation of six families is having and how the wait for a verdict is increasing the stress and financial strain on them. We make that point when we raise the case with the Indian authorities. However, we cannot interfere in what is an ongoing legal process, just as we would not allow another country to interfere in an ongoing court case in the United Kingdom.While we await a verdict our High Commission in India remains in close contact with the men's legal team in India and in the UK, and our focus continues to be on the men's welfare and the support we can provide to their families.

El Salvador: Abortion

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterpart in El Salvador on potential reform of abortion laws in that country.

Boris Johnson: ​The British Government regularly raises the issue of women’s rights, including the strict anti-abortion laws with the Government of El Salvador. The then FCO Minister of State (Baroness Anelay) raised these issues when she visited El Salvador in December 2016 and the Minister of State for Europe and the Americas (Sir Alan Duncan) has raised our concerns with the Salvadoran Ambassador in London both in person and in writing.

Bahrain: Prisoners

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his counterparts in the Bahrain Government on the treatment of (a) Ebtisam Al-Sayegh and (b) Mohammed Khalil al Shakouri.

Alistair Burt: Our Embassy in Bahrain is seeking further information from the authorities concerning the details of these cases. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments. We also encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman.

Cabinet Office

Government Departments: Iron and Steel

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when the Government plans to commence reporting on UK steel content in relation to procurement by Government Departments.

Caroline Nokes: Last December, the Government issued updated guidance to central government departments on how to ensure that they take full account of the value provided by UK steel producers when conducting their procurement activities; and extended this guidance to the wider public sector. Since publication of the guidance, the Government has been working closely with departments to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the guidance. Further work is ongoing to test the accuracy of the figures and therefore we are not in a position to publish the data publicly.The Government also published its indicative future steel requirements to 2020 in December, to enable UK steel manufacturers to better plan and bid for government contracts:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/procurement-policy-note-1116-procuring-steel-in-major-projects-revised-guidance

Elections: Fraud

John Spellar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, with reference to his oral contribution of 5 July 2017, Official Report, column 1151, how many of the 2394 alleged cases of electoral fraud since 2010 led to a (a) police investigation, (b) charge, (c) court case and (d)  conviction.

Chris Skidmore: This Government is committed to creating a secure and clear democracy that works for everyone and, as part of this, wants to ensure that fraud is stamped out in elections. Any instance of electoral fraud is one instance too many. The Electoral Commission publishes annual analysis of electoral fraud on their website. (http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/find-information-by-subject/electoral-fraud/data-and-analysis?) Further breakdown and analysis of information on electoral fraud is available in the reports.

Cabinet Office: Advertising

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on advertising on social media in each month since January 2016.

Chris Skidmore: Since January 2016 the Cabinet Office spent the following amount on social media. DateSpendJanuary 2016£0February 2016£0March 2016£9,982April 2016£420,670May 2016£732,230June 2016£0July 2016£0August 2016£0September 2016£0October 2016£0November 2016£1,775December 2016£0January 2017£3,496February 2017£2,600March 2017£53,245April 2017£117,468May 2017£0June 2017£7,429

Public Sector: Procurement

Layla Moran: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount and (b) proportion of public procurement placed with small and medium-sized businesses in (i) Oxford city, (ii) Oxford West and Abingdon constituency and (iii) Oxfordshire in each of the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: In 2014-15, Central Government spent over £12 billion (27.1%) with small and medium sized businesses, which shows a continued year on year increase in SMEs winning public procurements; and we are committed to increasing spend with them through public procurement. Information on all public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally.

Public Sector: Procurement

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the (a) amount and (b) proportion of public procurement spent by the Government placed with small and medium-sized firms in Wales in each of the last three years.

Caroline Nokes: In 2014-15, Central Government spent over £12 billion (27.1%) with small and medium sized businesses, which shows a continued year on year increase in SMEs winning public procurements; and we are committed to increasing spend with them through public procurement. Information on public sector suppliers within a specific constituency is not held centrally by the Cabinet Office. Responsibility for public procurement in Wales has been devolved to the Welsh Government.

Living Wage: Arfon

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many (a) women and (b) men working in Arfon constituency earn less than the national living wage.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ4048
(PDF Document, 66.08 KB)

Debts: Wales

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of household debt in (a) Arfon constituency and (b) Wales in each year since 2010.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ4047
(PDF Document, 160.3 KB)

Low Pay

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people working in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK earn less than £10 per hour.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ3920
(PDF Document, 66.54 KB)

Cabinet Office: Written Questions

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to respond to Question 2304, tabled by the hon. Member for Croydon North on 30 June 2017.

Damian Green: I refer the Honourable member to the answer given to him on 10th July 2017 to PQ2304.

Diseases

Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many people, broken down by age, with severe combined immunodeficiency disorder have died from that condition in each year since 2010.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ3907
(PDF Document, 77.04 KB)




UKSA Response table to PQ3907
(Excel SpreadSheet, 17.76 KB)

Overseas Students

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many overseas students were in the UK on 1 June 2017; and how many such students there were by country of origin.

Chris Skidmore: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Response to PQ4073
(PDF Document, 75.9 KB)

Department for International Development

Fairtrade Initiative

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will make an assessment on the effect on the Fairtrade scheme of the decision of Sainsbury's and other retailers to withdraw from that scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: DFID is a longstanding supporter of Fairtrade and other standards organisations which fall under the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling (ISEAL) Alliance umbrella. Certification by these organisations assures consumers that standards are being met and can help producers receive a better price for their goods. There is not yet sufficient information available on the Sainsbury’s Sustainability Standards for DFID to make an assessment. Officials will monitor the progress of the scheme, including its impact on Fairtrade.

Overseas Aid

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to help other Departments spending resources on aid achieve good or very good ratings under the international aid transparency initiative.

Rory Stewart: DFID is providing regular advice to support departments to improve the transparency of their overseas development assistance. This includes workshops, guidance and the establishment of a network to share good practice. It is essential we pool skills and expertise across government to ensure we achieve this commitment, so the British public know their money is being spent well to eradicate poverty and keep Britain safe.

Overseas Aid

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will ensure that any changes to the OECD Development Assistance Committee rules are proposed on the basis of increasing the beneficial effects of aid spending on the world's poorest and most vulnerable communities.

Rory Stewart: The OECD Development Assistance Committee defines the primary purpose of Official Development Assistance as the ‘promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries’. We fully support that. Any changes will be based on the clear principle that they should make the aid system more effective in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Overseas Aid

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will ensure that spending on aid by all Government Departments conforms to the International Development Act 2002.

Rory Stewart: Government departments that spend Official Development Assistance (ODA) do so under the International Development Act 2002, or in accordance with other statutory powers where appropriate. It is the responsibility of individual departments to ensure that their ODA spend complies with the relevant statutory powers.

Small Charities Challenge Fund: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps she is taking to ensure that there is interest in and take-up from the Small Charities Challenge Fund from charities in Northern Ireland.

Alistair Burt: The new Small Charities Challenge Fund (SCCF) was widely communicated to UK media and on social media. The Department has liaised with CADANI (Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies in Northern Ireland) to disseminate information to their members on the new fund as well as other appropriate Organisations in order to promote the Small Charities Challenge Fund in Northern Ireland. Letters were also sent to MPs and peers including from Northern Ireland informing them of the opening of the Fund.

Department for Education

Apprentices

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will discuss with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government the potential merits of using the business rates mailer to advertise the apprenticeships programme.

Anne Milton: The Government continues to use a wide variety of mechanisms to promote the merits of apprenticeships. We use the internet, social media, advertising campaigns, as well as direct communications and face to face dialogue with employers and individuals to champion the benefits of apprenticeships. Our Get In Go Far campaign was launched to inspire more young people to take on an apprenticeship, and more employers to offer them. In 2016/17 the campaign generated more than 2 million visits to its microsite which has, in turn, generated more than 120,000 applications for apprenticeship places. We already work closely with officials in the DCLG and other government departments to help us to engage with employers in the public and private sector alike to make sure they are aware of the benefits of apprenticeships and take advantage of the opportunity, and will continue to do so.

Further Education: Mental Illness

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase resources for identifying and supporting people in further education who have a mental health condition.

Anne Milton: Supporting people experiencing mental health issues to develop their confidence and skills is a priority for this government, and further education providers have an important role to play. We invest in this via the disadvantage element of the participation funding for 16-19 year olds, and through the Adult Education Budget for students aged 19 and over. This sits alongside an additional £1.4bn we are investing in children and young people’s mental health through the NHS. The Department for Education (DfE) is also running the Community Learning Mental Health programme, comprising 57 pilot projects around the country. This supports students with mild to moderate mental health difficulties access learning. Findings from this will be available early 2018, which will inform future work. Additionally, the DfE is currently working alongside the Department of Health to develop a children and young people’s mental health green paper, which will be published by the end of the year. Part of this work is consideration of how best to improve links between schools, colleges and NHS mental health services.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many women born in the 1950s and affected by the change in the state pension age have (a) taken up and (b) completed apprenticeships.

Anne Milton: The table below shows the numbers of women born between 6 April 1950 and 31 December 1959 who have started and achieved an apprenticeship in the last five academic years: Academic year 2011/122012/132013/142014/152015/16Starts14,00011,5006,8007,5006,000Achievements6,8006,7005,1003,9003,500 Please note: for apprenticeship starts and achievements, age is calculated based on age at the start of the programme rather than based on 31 August of the academic year but does not include 16/17 figures.Data on apprenticeship starts and achievements by age band, and by gender are available in the apprenticeship demographic tools:Starts: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/624584/apprenticeships-demographics-data-tool-starts-v1.xlsx.Achievements:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/624824/apprenticeships-demographics-data-tool-achievements-v1.xlsx.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many women born in the 1950s and affected by the change in the state pension age have successfully taken part in the returner's scheme to return to the workplace.

Anne Milton: In the 2017 Budget, £5 million was allocated to increase the number of programmes for returners in the public and private sector. The Government Equalities Office is developing programmes to support people who want to return to the workplace. These have not yet been launched but will be open to all those who wish to return to paid work, having taken time out of the labour market for caring. This includes women born in the 1950s and affected by the change in the state pension age. The number of older workers in employment is at a record high, this includes 1.2 million workers over the age of 65. This corresponds to an increase in the employment rate for individuals over the age of 65 from 6.7% to 10.3% over the past ten years. The Government is keen in supporting older people to return to the labour market and that is why we invested £1.6 million in nine pilots across England to explore ways to support carers to balance work and caring responsibilities. The final evaluation report is expected later this Summer.

Overseas Students: Cuba

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) undergraduate and (b) postgraduate students studying in the UK are of Cuban nationality.

Joseph Johnson: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on students enrolled at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Annual statistics on higher education students are published at the following link:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/statistical-first-releases. In academic year 2015/16 there were five undergraduate and 25 postgraduate students of Cuban domicile enrolled at UK HEIs.

Class Sizes: Kingston upon Hull

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 27 March 2017 to Question 68496, on class sizes: York, if she will publish the same data for Hull in each year since 2011.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the average pupil to teacher ratio in state funded primary schools and state funded secondary schools in the City of Kingston Upon Hull local authority and England[1] as reported by schools in each year between November 2011 and 2016. Primary[2]Secondary City of Kingston Upon HullEnglandCity of Kingston Upon HullEngland201121.420.515.714.9201221.420.515.114.9201320.920.515.215.0201420.820.415.715.0201520.620.514.915.3201621.220.614.615.6Source: School Workforce Census and the School Census[1] The pupil teacher ratios are calculated by dividing the total full-time equivalent (FTE) number of pupils on roll in schools in each year by the total FTE number of teachers in schools in each year. Where schools are not open on census day, for both the School Workforce Census (November), and the School Census (January) they are excluded. Schools that do not provide either pupil or teacher figures are also excluded. See School Workforce Census methodology document for further information: Methodology: SFR25/2017.[2] Excludes local authority maintained nursery schools.

Sixth Form Education

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of her Department's budget allocated to 16 to 19-year old education was reallocated to other budgets in the financial years (a) 2014-15, (b) 2015-16 and (c) 2016-17.

Anne Milton: Budgets for 16 to 19-year-old education are set on the basis of the established 16 to 19 funding rates and formula, using estimates of student numbers. In 2014-15 and 2015-16 student numbers and associated costs were lower than these estimates, which resulted in lower spending than the forecast, by £135m and £132m respectively, representing 2.2% of the budget. This was available for reallocation. Because this resulted from student numbers which were slightly lower than forecast, it did not affect funding per student. Final expenditure is not yet available for 2016-17 and will be published in Education and Skills Funding Agency accounts in due course.

Ministry of Justice

Personal Injury

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to change regulations covering insurance claims for whiplash.

Mr Sam Gyimah: As announced in the Queens Speech on 21 June, the Government will bring forward legislation to tackle the continuing high number and cost of whiplash claims by:introducing a fixed tariff of compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity for whiplash claims with a duration of up to two years; andbanning the practice of seeking or offering to settle whiplash claims without medical evidence.These measures will be supported by further secondary legislative changes to the Civil Procedure Rules to increase the small claims track limit for road traffic accident related personal injury claims to £5,000, and for all other personal injury claims to £2,000.

Prisoners: Repatriation

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of whether convicted prisoners from non-UK EU member states will be repatriated after the UK leaves the EU.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The UK participates in the EU Prisoner Transfer Framework Decision (Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA). This provides for the transfer of sentenced prisoners between Member States of the EU. All eligible prisoners are identified for transfer and referred to the Home Office for deportation action. Looking ahead, we need to negotiate the best deal we can with the Europe Union, and we are working across Government to consider options for our future arrangements with the EU in criminal justice matters. It is too early to speculate on what these arrangements might look like in terms of prisoner transfers with EU Member States.

Immigration: Appeals

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he last met Mr Justice McCloskey to discuss delays in immigration tribunals.

Dominic Raab: The Secretary of State for Justice has not met Mr Justice McCloskey, but work is ongoing to reduce delays in immigration tribunals.

Ministry of Justice: Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff have left or agreed settlements to leave his Department under (a) voluntary exit, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy since 1 November 2016; and how much compensation was paid in those cases.

Dr Phillip Lee: Information on the number of Ministry of Justice (MoJ) staff who left the Department under Voluntary Exit, Voluntary Redundancy and Compulsory Redundancy, as well as the cost of these exits between 1 November 2016 and 31 March 2017 is contained in the table below:  Number of Staff who leftCost (£)Voluntary Exit562,415,060.16Voluntary Redundancy00Compulsory Redundancy00

Offensive Weapons: Sentencing

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders charged with possession of an offensive weapon received non-custodial sentences in each of the last three years; and what proportion of those offenders were juveniles.

Dominic Raab: The proportion of offenders convicted or cautioned for possession of an offensive weapon who received a non-custodial sentence in the last three years, and the proportion who were juveniles, can be viewed in the following table. Offenders convicted or cautioned for possession of an offensive weapon, England and Wales1, year ending March 2015 to year ending March 2017 Year Ending MarchProportion of those who were convicted or cautioned who received a non-custodial sentence2,3Proportion of those who were convicted or cautioned and received a non-custodial sentence who were juvenile2,3  201557%27%  201654%31%  2017 451%35%   Source: MoJ extract of the National Computer   Notes:1) England and Wales includes all 43 police force areas and the British Transport Police. 2) The disposal considered in this table is only the most severe of the disposals given as a result of the offender being found guilty and may also be dependent on other offences committed at the same time.3) A custodial sentence includes immediate custody and suspended sentences. Non-custodial sentences refer to other sanctions including community sentences, cautions, fines, absolute or conditional discharges and other disposals such as restraining orders.4) The proportion of those convicted who were juvenile has been estimated from raw figures to which no estimation method has been applied.

Legal Aid Scheme

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to increase the availability of legal aid in England and Wales.

Dominic Raab: The reforms to the scope of civil legal aid were designed to refocus funding on those who need it most and on the most serious cases in which legal advice and representation are justified. Previous Ministers have made a commitment to publishing both a post-legislative memorandum for the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 as a whole and a post-implementation review of recent legal aid reform.

Feltham Young Offender Institution: Expenditure

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the (a) direct resource expenditure and (b) overall resource expenditure for Feltham Young Offenders Institution between 2011 and 2017.

Dr Phillip Lee: Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) routinely publishes direct and overall resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. The information requested can be accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-performance-statistics-2015-to-2016. The figures for Feltham YOI are reported under the ‘Male closed YOI’ establishment category. The data for the last financial year 2016-17 has not yet been finalised, and is expected to be published in autumn 2017.

Feltham Young Offender Institution

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the report by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons published on 30 June 2017 following an unannounced inspection of Feltham Young Offenders Institution; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Phillip Lee: Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons' inspection of Feltham took place from 23 January to 3 February 2017. Safety in prisons and young offender institutions is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and addressing safety concerns is at the heart of our reform plans. The findings from the report highlighted serious concern over safety and levels of violence and we are already taking action to address this and other issues identified. We are currently working on an action plan based on the inspectorate’s recommendation to address the concerns raised in the report.

Feltham Young Offender Institution: Staff

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff and officers were employed at Feltham Young Offenders Institution between 2011 and 2017.

Dr Phillip Lee: Information on the number of staff employed in Feltham YOI from 2013 and 2017 can be found in the workforce statistics bulletins at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics Information on the number of staff employed in Feltham YOI in 2011 and 2012 are contained in the table 1 below. Table 1: Staff numbers (Full-Time Equivalent) in Feltham YOI, as at 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2012  Band 3-5 OfficersAll other staff31/03/201140029131/03/2012369285 To note: band 3 officers refers to Prison officersband 4 officers refers to Specialist officersband 5 officers refers Custodial Managers

Parking Offences: Judgements

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many County Court Judgments were issued for non-payment of private parking prosecutions in each of the last 12 months; and how many of those judgments were processed at Northampton Crown Court.

Dominic Raab: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Wigan

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the number of (a) directly employed staff and (b) people employed in support of Hindley Prison is.

Mr Sam Gyimah: Information on the number of staff directly employed at HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Hindley can be found in table 12 in the latest workforce bulletin at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-offender-management-service-workforce-quarterly-march-2017 We do not hold information regarding people employed in support of Hindley prison.

Mentally Disordered Offenders

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many restricted patients' discharge procedures were awaiting approval by his Department in each of the last six months.

Dr Phillip Lee: The number of applications received by the Secretary of State for Justice to consider whether to approve the conditional discharge of a restricted patient in each of the last six months is set out below:Jan-17Feb-17Mar-17Apr-17May-17Jun-1725141915148

Landlords: Crime

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to ensure consistency in sentencing criminal landlords for housing-related offences.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will introduce sentencing guidelines for offences under the Housing Acts; and if he will make a statement.

Dominic Raab: The government keeps the penalties for housing related offences under review to ensure that the courts have sufficient powers to deal effectively with those convicted of these offences. Sentencing for housing related or any other offence, however is entirely a matter for the independent judiciary. Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council for England and Wales.

Department for International Trade

Overseas Trade: Commonwealth

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what discussions he has had with Commonwealth trade ministers on (a) imports from Commonwealth countries to the UK and (b) exports from the UK to Commonwealth countries.

Greg Hands: I refer the hon. Member for Strangford to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend for Crawley on 6 July 2017, UIN: 2081.

Overseas Trade: USA

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on trade in meat products between the US and the UK.

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US Administration on trade in steel between the US and the UK.

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when he last met his counterpart in the US Administration; and what matters were discussed.

Hannah Bardell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when he last discussed with members of the US Cabinet trade in agricultural goods between the US and the UK.

Greg Hands: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for International Trade visited Washington on 19-20 June and met with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. Their discussions covered a range of key UK interests including steel.During the visit they agreed to convene a first meeting of the UK-US Trade Working Group in late July. Early discussions in the Working Group will focus on providing commercial continuity for US and UK businesses as the UK leaves the EU and on exploring possible ways to strengthen trade and commercial ties immediately, consistent with the EU’s common commercial policy. The Working Group will also work to lay the groundwork for a future UK-US free trade agreement once the UK has left the EU.

Campaign against Arms Trade

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the cost to the public purse was of the Government's participation in the recent legal action brought by the Campaign Against Arms Trade.

Mark Garnier: The legal cost of defending this action to the end of June 2017 is £611,538, including VAT.

Trade Promotion

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the benefits of and opportunities for trade and investment are shared across the regions and nations of the UK.

Mark Garnier: The Department for International Trade is a department for the whole of the UK. It supports exports from, and encourages investment into, the whole of the UK. Its negotiation of free trade agreements will benefit the whole of the UK. UK Export Finance is better equipped than ever to support exporters across the UK. The Department will create a Board of Trade – including representatives from England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - with the purpose of ensuring that the benefits of trade and investment are spread across the whole of the UK.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps his Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Damian Green) on 11 July 2017 to Question 3079.http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2017-07-05/3079/

Defence: Procurement

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent representations have been made to his Department by NATO on the alliance procuring encryption capability from the UK.

Mark Lancaster: I am not aware of any such representations.

Ministry of Defence: Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff have left or agreed settlements to leave his Department under (a) voluntary exit, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy since 1 November 2016; and how much compensation was paid in those cases.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Details of the number, type, compensation levels and cost of exits from the Ministry of Defence are routinely published in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts.

Ministry of Defence: Advertising

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on advertising on social media in each month since January 2016.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The vast majority of social media advertising spend within the Ministry of Defence is to aid recruitment into our Armed Forces. Since January 2016 the Ministry of Defence spent the following amounts on social media. DateSpendJanuary 2016£71,553February 2016£177,507March 2016£165,471April 2016£52,329May 2016£64,864June 2016£52,244July 2016£86,978August 2016£166,245September 2016£144,463October 2016£118,660November 2016£179,258December 2016£185,023January 2017£212,572February 2017£202,038March 2017£244,785April 2017£12,287May 2017£79,831June 2017£102,319

Military Bases: Security

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many successful prosecutions there have been for unauthorised entries to military bases in the last two years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The information on the number of successful prosecutions there have been for unauthorised entries to military bases in the last two years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Military Bases: Security

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many unauthorised entries to military bases have been recorded in the last two years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by my hon. Friend the then Minister for Defence Veterans, Reserves and Personnel (Mark Lancaster) on 5 May 2016 to Question 35621 to the hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) and on 30 March 2017 to Question 69349 to the hon. Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron).



Hansard extracts
(Word Document, 18.42 KB)

Military Bases: Security

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many unauthorised entries under the provisions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 have been recorded at (a) AWE Aldermaston, (b) AWE Burghfield, (c) HMNB Devonport, (d) HMNB Clyde, (e) RNAD Coulport, (f) Northwood Headquartes, (g) RAF Fylingdales, (h) RAF Menwith Hill, (i) RAF Croughton, (j) RAF Lakenheath, (k) RAF Feltwell, (l) RAF Mildenhall, (m) RAF Brize Norton, (n) SMC Marchwood, (o) RAF Fairford and (p) RAF Weldon in the last two years.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Since 1 July 2015, the Ministry of Defence Police has recorded two unauthorised entries under the provisions of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 at the sites listed.

Cadets: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to visit cadet detachments in Northern Ireland in the current calendar year.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: I commend the good work that cadet forces do in Northern Ireland and welcome invitations to visit its cadet establishments. I have no immediate plans to visit cadet detachments in Northern Ireland but I would be very happy to consider such visits in the future.

Department for Work and Pensions

Offshore Industry: Helicopters

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to ensure that the Health and Safety Executive's website is updated to include the safety record of helicopters in the UK offshore sector in each year between 2002 and 2016.

Penny Mordaunt: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulates all UK aircraft operators to ensure they comply with relevant international safety standards including European-wide safety regulations set by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspectors visit offshore installations on a regular basis to inspect all aspects of health and safety, including helidecks and helideck operations. The split of responsibilities between HSE and CAA is explained in the HSE Guidance Document INDG219, which is published with the HSE Offshore Marine and Aviation safety guidance. HSE also has a Memorandum of Understanding with the CAA which describes how the two organisations work with one another, and which is published on the HSE MoU web pages. HSE directs any queries on the regulation of the airworthiness and operational safety of an aircraft or its passengers to the CAA and its website. The CAA published a review of accidents operations directly associated with offshore oil and gas activities during the period 1976-2002 in its publication CAP1145 – Safety review of offshore public transport helicopter operations in support of the exploitation of oil and gas.

Social Security Benefits

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many complaints have been made regarding factual inaccuracies in employment and support allowance and personal independent payment assessments in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and how many of those complaints were upheld.

Penny Mordaunt: 0.06% of assessments received complaints about factual inaccuracies in Employment Support Allowance assessments in the last 12 months. Information on the number of complaints which were upheld is not recorded. 0.2% of assessments received complaints about factual inaccuracies in Personal Independence Payment assessments in the last 12 months, of which 8.1% were upheld.

Buildings: Safety

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many notifications the Health and Safety Executive has received on health and safety matters related to multi-storey buildings in each region of the UK and in each year since 2005; and what the principal reason was for each of those notifications.

Penny Mordaunt: The ‘Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013’ (RIDDOR) puts duties on employers, some self-employed and people in control of work premises (the Responsible Person) to report certain serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (near misses). Generally, such notifications are made in relation to workplace incidents and do not provide for the reporting of general health and safety concerns in relation to buildings. There are two specific exceptions to this, firstly in Regulation 11 of RIDDOR which covers the reporting of gas related incidents in buildings, not just workplaces and secondly, in Schedule 2 of RIDDOR, which concerns itself with ‘Dangerous Occurrences’ in relation to structural collapse. Where required under Regulation 11, reports are made to Health and Safety Executive (HSE) via an online form which asks for details of the incident and in what type of building it occurred (i.e. house, flat up to 4 stories, flat over 4 stories, bungalow, maisonette, other). HSE reviews all reports received against its own regulatory model to assess where further enforcement action is appropriate. The information is not held in a readily accessible format and to extract and collate it would incur disproportionate costs. Dangerous Occurrence reports (Schedule 2 of RIDDOR) require that the responsible person reports the unintentional collapse or partial collapse of any structure, which involves a fall of more than 5 tonnes of material; or any floor or wall of any place of work, arising from, or in connection with, ongoing construction work (including demolition, refurbishment and maintenance). The RIDDOR notification system does not provide for the reporting of building type in this case.

Health and Safety Executive: Staff

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many (a) chartered structural engineers and (b) fire engineers with expertise in cladding and external wall systems are employed by each Health and Safety Executive office.

Penny Mordaunt: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has a national team of construction engineering specialist inspectors providing a broad range of structural and civil engineering expertise in support of HSE’s operations to ensure workplace risks are being properly managed and controlled. The team comprises one chartered structural engineer based in HSE’s Bedford office, the remainder are civil engineers. HSE does not employ fire engineers with expertise in cladding and external wall systems.

Insulation: Safety

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the role of the Health and Safety Executive is in relation to ensuring the safe installation of cladding and external wall insulation systems.

Penny Mordaunt: The Health and Safety Executive is the national regulator for workplace health and safety. HSE’s role in relation to the installation of cladding and external wall insulation systems is to ensure that health and safety risks during the construction work are properly managed and controlled.

Employment and Support Allowance: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have (a) applied for and (b) received employment and support allowance for inflammatory bowel disease in each of the last three years.

Penny Mordaunt: Inflammatory bowel disease is a term commonly used to refer either Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative Colitis. The available information is shown in the following tables: Table 1: Number of individuals making an initial claim to Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) whose main disabling condition was recorded as Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, Great Britain, 2014 - 2016  Year of ESA claim startInitial ESA claims20142,80020152,6002016 (Jan - Sep)1,800 Table 2: Number of individuals assigned to the ESA Support Group or the ESA Work Capability Group following their Work Capability Assessment (for initial, repeat or IB reassessment claims), whose main disabling condition was recorded as Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, Great Britain, 2014 - 2016 Year of ESA claim start Initial ESA claimsRepeat ESA assessmentsIB reassessments20141,20040020020151,2003001002016 (Jan - Sep)700--  Source for Tables 1 and 2: Application data is derived from administrative data held by the DWP and assessment data provided by the Healthcare Provider. Notes for Tables 1 and 2:The figures are rounded to the nearest 100. – denotes figures that are zero or less than 50.The information for 2016 is provided up to September 2016 only; this is the latest data available at time of request.An individual may have made more than one ESA claim or assessment in any given year. These individuals will only be counted once in each of the figures provided.The primary medical condition recorded on the claim form does not itself confer entitlement to ESA. So, for example, a decision on entitlement for a customer claiming ESA on the basis of Crohn’s disease or Ulcerative Colitis would be based on their ability to carry out the range of activities assessed by the work capability assessment.

Employment and Support Allowance: Motor Neurone Disease

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many employment and support allowance claimants with motor neurone disease are in (a) the work related activity group and (b) support group; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: At 30 November 2016 the number of Employment and Support Allowance claimants with Motor Neurone Disease as their primary medical condition in the Work-Related Activity Group and the Support Group was 10 and 640 respectively.

Social Security Benefits: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps the Government is taking to ensure employment and support allowance and personal independence payment assessments take greater account of the complexities of inflammatory bowel disease.

Penny Mordaunt: The Health Professional is not required to diagnose a condition or to recommend treatment options. Instead it requires the Health Professional to look at the impact the condition or impairment has on a claimants’ daily life. This requires very different skills from those involved in the diagnosis and treatment of their patients, with less need for specialist knowledge on diagnosis and treatment. The Work Capability Assessment is a functional assessment which focuses on what an individual can do, rather than assuming that their health condition or disability automatically means they can’t work. The assessment for Personal Independence Payment focuses on a claimant’s ability to carry out a range of activities which are fundamental to living an independent life. It is designed to help working age people with the extra costs associated with their disability. All the assessment providers are committed to continuous improvement to support a more consistent application of the assessment process. In addition, the Providers frequently engage with medical experts, charities and relevant stakeholders to strengthen review and update training programmes for all their assessment staff.

Personal Independence Payment: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have (a) applied for and (b) received personal independence payments support from his Department related to inflammatory bowel disease.

Penny Mordaunt: The requested information for the number of Personal Independence Payment (PIP) applications for people with inflammatory bowel disease is not available because information on PIP claimants’ disabling conditions is not collected at the initial claim application stage. The number of people in receipt of PIP with a main disabling condition of inflammatory bowel disease is 5,100, as at the 30th April 2017 and has been published at the following link. Please see the tables “Personal Independence Payment: Detailed medical condition, April 2017 caseload” and filter by ‘Inflammatory bowel disease on the subgroup category. This publication is updated quarterly.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/personal-independence-payment-april-2013-to-april-2017 Data is based on primary disabling condition as recorded on the PIP computer system. Claimants may often have multiple disabling conditions upon which the decision is based but only the primary condition is shown in these statistics. Therefore, there may be other claimants in receipt of PIP who have been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease who are not captured in the data.

Employment and Support Allowance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will extend assessment rate payments to claimants of employment and support allowance who are waiting for the outcome of a mandatory reconsideration.

Penny Mordaunt: We have no plans to change the current policy of not paying benefit during the Mandatory Reconsideration process.

Department for Work and Pensions: Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many staff have left or agreed settlements to leave his Department under (a) voluntary exit, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy since 1 November 2016; and how much compensation was paid in those cases.

Caroline Dinenage: Since 1 November 2016 the Department has released the following number of exits under the required categories a) Voluntary exit, 2b) Voluntary redundancy, 0c) Compulsory redundancy, 0 The amount of compensation paid totalled £144,000.

Work Capability Assessment

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of health capability assessments for claimants of employment and support allowance with (a) mental health issues and (b) learning difficulties.

Penny Mordaunt: Strict audit and quality control measures are in place to ensure the Centre for Health and Disability Assessments delivers high-quality assessments. The Department introduced the independent audit of Work Capability Assessments in March 2015 in line with the start of the new Health and Disability Assessment Service contract. Audit has a central role in confirming that independent health professional advice complies with the required standards and that it is clear and medically reasonable. It also provides assurance that any approach to assessment and opinion given is consistent so that, irrespective of where or by whom the assessment is carried out, claimants with conditions that have the same functional effect will ultimately receive the same benefit outcome. Health Professionals receive training on how to identify the impact of mental health conditions on claimants. This is followed by on-going professional training and support which continues for the duration of their employment in the role. Providers are required to make every attempt to obtain the best evidence available to assist the Health Professional undertaking the assessment to make a fully formed judgment. This includes evidence from Community Mental Health Teams, psychologists, psychiatrists and social workers supporting claimants with mental health conditions.

Personal Independence Payment

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how the performance of PIP assessors is monitored.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department robustly monitors the performance of contracted suppliers and assessments are independently audited to ensure that the advice provided to the Department’s decision makers is of suitable quality, fully explained and justified. Assessment reports deemed unacceptable are returned to the provider for reworking. We continue to work extensively with PIP assessment providers to make improvements to guidance, training and audit procedures in order to ensure a quality service is maintained. Detailed guidance on how reports are audited and the criteria to be used are set out in section 4.5 of the Personal Independence Payment Assessment Guide, which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/547146/pip-assessment-guide.pdf. Both assessment providers are committed to continuous improvement. We are examining the merits of audio-recording face-to-face assessments to support a more consistent application of the assessment process and also changes to the way information is gathered during the assessment.

Employment and Support Allowance: Appeals

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average waiting time is by region to complete mandatory reconsiderations of employment and support allowance claims.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is shown in the table below: RegionClearance Time in working daysCentral England8.34London and the Home Counties8.60North East8.82North West8.06Scotland8.62South East9.40Wales9.19 Notes: The period the data covers is from 1st April 2016 to 31st March 2017. The data has been gathered based on the claimant’s postcode and is not reflective of the processing office dealing with the mandatory reconsideration. The data has been measured using the Actual Average Clearance Time (AACT). This measures the average number of Working Days (excludes weekends and English Bank Holidays) between an application being made and the date the customer was notified of the decision on their claim. Source: Decision Making and Appeals Case Recorder (DMACR). The above data source is a Departmental performance management, data capture and reporting tool. This type of internal management information does not form part of the official statistics outputs that are released by the Department in accordance with the UK Statistics Authority’s Code of Practice.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent in 2016-17 on processing jobseeker's allowance claims that were subsequently withdrawn following mandatory reconsideration of an employment and support allowance claim.

Penny Mordaunt: The information requested is not readily available and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Local Government: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many local authorities in England are Disability Confident.

Penny Mordaunt: In England 268 Local Authorities have signed up to the Disability Confident scheme.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in what proportion of disability benefit claims his Department asks a claimant's doctor for medical evidence directly rather than seeking that evidence through the claimant.

Penny Mordaunt: The gathering of medical evidence is a key part of the claim process and the information is gathered from a range of sources. However, the information as requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

BPDTS

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what proportion of the time of directors of the Benefits and Pensions Digital Technology Services Limited (BPDTS) is spent as (a) employees of his Department and (b) employees of BPDTS; who in his Department awards work to BPDTS; whether there is any financial benefit to those directors from work awarded by his Department to that company; and if he will make a statement.

Guy Opperman: BPDTS Ltd was set-up to provide IT services to DWP previously provided by Hewlett Packard Enterprises Ltd. The Secretary of State is the sole member of the company and therefore in effect its owner. There are two Executive Directors (the Chief Executive and the Chief Financial Officer) both of whom are civil servants, employed by DWP. The Chief Executive spends approximately 75% of his time on BPDTS business and the Chief Financial Officer 100% of his time. There are five non-Executive Directors who are also senior officers of DWP. The time they spent on the company’s business is limited to attendance at monthly Board meetings and preparations for those meetings. Service orders identifying work to be undertaken by BPDTS Ltd are agreed with the DWP Digital Group. There is no financial benefit in awarding this work to any Director.

Jobcentres: North West

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the proposed closure of a number of jobcentres in the North West on travelling time and distance for claimants.

Damian Hinds: We believe that it is a reasonable expectation that claimants travel to an office within three miles or 20 minutes by public transport of their existing jobcentre. This may mean slightly longer and slightly shorter journeys for some individual claimants who use our services in the North West and we have considered this when setting the criteria. There are large areas of the country where claimants have always travelled further than this without any issues. We have assessed the distances between existing and new jobcentre locations to help customers better understand any differences in time and distance. This is to reflect the fact that people who travel to the jobcentre will use whichever type of transport suits their personal circumstances, they may not be starting their journey from their home, and not all those who use our services are claimants.

Department for Work and Pensions: Bootle

Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect of the closure of his Department's processing and contact centre in Bootle Linacre on the response times for caseload in the local area.

Damian Hinds: The planned changes at Linacre House, Bootle will help us to deliver better services in the future as well as reduce the amount we spend on leasing buildings. We have looked at how we can rationalise the work, whilst ensuring that we do not diminish our service or lose any knowledge and experience. We will transfer the work and processing colleagues to St Martins House, Bootle. The services undertaken at Linacre House are not specifically linked to claims made by people in the surrounding area and is part of a national network of processing sites. We do not anticipate any impact on the service to claimants in the local area as a result of these changes.

Housing Benefit: Supported Housing

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people with mental or physical health problems living in supported housing will be exempt from the local housing allowance rate cap for housing benefit.

Caroline Dinenage: The application of the Local Housing Allowance rate to supported housing will be deferred until 2019/20. Developing a workable and sustainable funding model for supported housing is a priority for the Government. We will set out further details on our plans as soon as possible.

Universal Credit

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the optimum number of universal credit claimants for the caseload of a work coach in a (a) live service and (b) full digital service area.

Damian Hinds: The optimum caseload of a work coach in Live Service is dependent on a number of factors, including the level of customer support required and the demographics of the surrounding area. In Full Service it is too early to assess what the optimum work coach caseload will be. The service continues to develop iteratively, with claimants able to increasingly self-serve and interact with their work coach on-line.

Universal Credit: ICT

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the roll-out of the universal credit full digital service to date.

Damian Hinds: The Universal Credit Full (Digital) Service continues to roll-out as planned. Since November 2014 when the first jobcentre went live we have continued to test, learn and refine the service as it has expanded. We are seeing steady improvements in processing as the new service beds in and claimants adjust to the new system. The full service is now operating in 93 jobcentres and we plan to continue to improve and develop the service as the roll-out accelerates.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 1 March 2016 to Question 27621, what guidance his Department provides to its staff on proactively making callers who want to discuss universal credit aware that staff can call them back free of charge.

Damian Hinds: The Department’s guidance directs staff dealing with Universal Credit claims to call customers back either if they request it or if they express any concern about the cost of calling.

State Retirement Pensions: Females

Mr Stephen Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate his Department has made of the number of women in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) the UK who will be affected by changes to the state pension age for women born in the 1950s.

Guy Opperman: Women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1953 were affected by State Pension age equalisation under the Pensions Act 1995. The Pensions Act 2011 accelerated the equalisation of State Pension age, and included transitional arrangements limiting State Pension age delays, affecting women born between 6 April 1953 and 5 December 1953. It also brought forward the increase in State Pension age from 65 to 66 which affected women born between 6 December 1953 and 5 April 1960. The Department for Work and Pensions only holds estimates at a Great Britain level. The latest estimates are that the changes affect 3.58 million women in Great Britain born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1960, of which 3.48 million were born in the 1950s. These figures are rounded to the nearest 10,000 and are based on DWP calculations using the 2014-based ONS principal population projections. Information on the numbers affected by constituent country, parliamentary constituency or local authority is not held by the Department for Work and Pensions. However, the most recent population breakdowns for England and its parliamentary constituencies by age can be found here:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/parliamentaryconstituencymidyearpopulationestimates Population breakdowns by local authority, region and country can be found here:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/datasets/populationestimatesforukenglandandwalesscotlandandnorthernireland The House of Commons library have produced a paper estimating the number of women affected by the Pensions Act 2011 (those born between 6 April 1953 and 5 April 1960 by constituency, which can be found here:http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-7405/CBP-07405constituencyestimates.xlsx

Motability

Stephen Pound: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will take steps to compile information on the number of Motability vehicles which have been recalled in England between (a) January to March and (b) April to June 2017.

Penny Mordaunt: The Department does not hold information on how many people had Motability vehicles on DLA. Therefore, we are unable to collect accurate information on the number of people who have returned a Motability vehicle. The details of the number of people returning Motability vehicles for the requested dates and the reasons behind this are Motability’s Management Information, and the Department has no right to access this as it is an independent organisation.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps his Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

George Eustice: I refer the Honourable Member for Stretford and Urmston to the answer given by the Right Honourable member for Ashford in response to PQ3079.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Fire Extinguishers

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether his Department has made an estimate of the cost of installing sprinkler systems in (a) new build domestic homes, (b) retrofitted domestic homes, (c) new tower blocks and (d) retrofitted tower blocks.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 27 June 2017



No central assessment has been carried out. The costs will vary widely based on the size and age of buildings. Local authorities may have commissioned separate assessments into the costs involved following the Government’s request in 2013 to social housing providers that they consider installing sprinklers into older residential tower blocks.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether representations were made to his Department by representatives of the Building Research Establishment in 2016 on the presence of combustible materials in tall buildings not compromising relevant building regulations.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 06 July 2017



In 2016 the Building Research Establishment published findings of research, commissioned by my Department, into newer construction techniques being used in buildings. Its intention was to raise awareness in the construction industry of the potential risks associated with certain techniques being used. A copy of that research can be found at https://www.bre.co.uk/filelibrary/Fire%20and%20Security/FI---External-Fire-Spread-Part-1.pdf

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the letter of 28 March 2013 from Judge Kirkham to the then Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the conclusion of the Lakanal House fire inquest, what progress his Department has made in supporting the implementation of each of the Coroners' recommendations as set out in that letter.

Alok Sharma: Holding answer received on 10 July 2017



The Government has acted on the recommendations of the Coroner's report into the Lakanal House fire. In relation to the recommendation to simplify the fire safety guidance relating to Building Regulations (Approved Document B), this work was being progressed. Following the tragedy at Grenfell Tower, we will need to consider the position on guidance further alongside the Prime Minister's commitment to look at wider issues. This work will now need to be informed by any recommendations that the independent inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire make.

Housing: Construction

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the Answer of 26 April 2017 to Question 68793, on help to buy scheme: leasehold, what his Department's definition is of acceptable terms for new build houses.

Alok Sharma: The Housing White Paper outlines the Government’s approach to fairness, transparency and customer choice for leaseholders. It also made clear that selling houses on a leasehold basis is not always in consumers’ best interests. We are working with UK Finance, lenders and the leasehold sector to identify abuses and promote more acceptable lease terms.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 29 June 2017 to Question 737, if he will make it his policy to require all Local Enterprise Partnerships to publish the names and remuneration packages of senior staff in their annual report.

Jake Berry: Government takes the transparency of Local Enterprise Partnerships extremely seriously. We committed in the Industrial Strategy Green Paper to work with Local Enterprise Partnerships to review their role in delivering local growth and examine how we can spread best practice and strengthen them. We will put forward proposals for implementing this in due course.

Fire Prevention: Greater London

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on fire safety in London after the repeal in 2013 of sections 20 and 21 of the London Building Acts (Amendment) Act 1939.

Alok Sharma: The then Government published an impact assessment of these changes which can be found at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukia/2012/441/pdfs/ukia_20120441_en.pdf

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what role building control officers have in relation to inspecting the installation of external wall insulation or cladding systems on multi-storey buildings.

Alok Sharma: Building control officers and Approved Inspectors are required to take all reasonable steps to satisfy themselves that building work meets all relevant requirements in the Building Regulations. This duty applies equally to the installation of external wall insulation and cladding on tall buildings and building control officers would have the opportunity to consider the plans for the work and to inspect it. Building control officers also have powers to take samples of and test building materials where they consider it necessary to do so.

Fire Prevention

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which local authorities have entered into confidentiality settlement agreements with providers, suppliers or installers after the failure of cladding or of external wall insulation systems after 2005; and which of those agreements related to a structural failure that occurred after January 2014.

Alok Sharma: The Department does not hold information on any local authorities who may have entered into such agreements.

Non-domestic Rates

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions Ministers of his Department have had with representatives of local government on the 100 per cent business rates retention policy.

Mr Marcus Jones: We have engaged extensively with local authorities on 100 per cent business rates retention policy, including through a joint working group with the Local Government Association. We will continue to work with the sector over the coming months as we take forward work on our commitment to give local authorities greater control of the money they raise locally.

High Rise Flats: Insulation

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the safe installation of cladding or external wall insulation on high-rise buildings.

Alok Sharma: It is the responsibility of people carrying out building work to ensure compliance with the Building Regulations. As well as requirements relating to fire safety (Schedule 1 of the Building Regulations, Part B), requirements relating to structures (Part A), resistance to moisture (Part C) and conservation of fuel and power (Part L) will be relevant. Building owners should take account of all these considerations when planning work on external wall surfaces.On 30 June, we published a note covering the Government Building Safety Programme at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/explanatory-note-on-safety-checks-and-testingThat note makes clear that if a landlord chooses to take down and replace cladding, care should be taken to consider the impact that removal may have on the other wall elements, especially insulation, and therefore on the overall fire integrity of the building as well as other Building Regulation requirements.

Non-domestic Rates

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations his Department has had from (a) local authorities, (b) local councillors and (c) others on the 100 per cent business rates retention policy.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has been closely collaborating with stakeholders from across local government and business on the current business rates retention scheme and future direction of policy in this area.Departmental officials have had meetings with representatives from authorities which are currently piloting 100 per cent business rates retention.In addition to this, the Department has received over 220 responses from local authorities, local councillors and local government and business stakeholder groups on the ‘Further Consultation on 100% Business Rates Retention’, published in February 2017. The Department is currently analysing these responses and will discuss with local government representatives the best way forward.

Leasehold

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he will bring forward consultation on leasehold reform.

Alok Sharma: The Housing White Paper highlights the Government’s aim to improve consumer choice and fairness in the leasehold sector and to tackle unfair and unreasonable abuses of leasehold. It identifies new leasehold houses and onerous ground rents as areas where the most urgent reform may be needed. It also states we will bring forward a consultation on leasehold reform and this remains our intention, as well as considering wider reforms to leasehold in the medium-term.

Non-domestic Rates

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate his Department has made of regional variations in business rate income across local authorities; and what assessment his Department has made of the effect of those variations on the provision of local public services.

Mr Marcus Jones: Information about local authority income from business rates is published on the Department's website at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/national-non-domestic-rates-local-authority-level-dataLocal variations in business rates are taken into account through the way in which the local government finance regime redistributes income between authorities. Under the rates retention scheme, authorities with large business rates bases, relative to their spending needs, pay part of their business rates as a “tariff”. This is then redistributed as a “top-up” payment to every local authority whose relative needs is higher than its business rates bases.The Government periodically assesses resourcing requirements for local government as part of each spending review, ensuring a sustainable basis for local authorities to discharge their functions.

Social Services: Finance

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to tackle regional variations in adult social care funding.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans his Department has to publish an impact assessment setting out the effect of regional variations in adult social care funding on service provision.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on unmet social care needs in England.

Mr Marcus Jones: Earlier this year, the Government gave councils access to £9.25 billion more dedicated funding for social care over the next three years. This includes an additional £2 billion of funding in England, as announced at the Spring Budget 2017.The vast majority of the money announced at Spring Budget and for the improved Better Care Fund at Spending Review 2015 will be allocated to ensure that those who can raise less through the social care precept element benefit most. The remainder will be allocated according to relative need in recognition of the additional challenges which social care places on all councils.More widely we remain committed to the Fair Funding Review as an important way to address concerns about the fairness of current funding distributions to local authorities. There have been widespread calls for a thorough, evidence-based review and this we plan to deliver. We will therefore continue to make progress with the review, in collaboration with the LGA and local authority officers.The Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Health work closely together to ensure that our policy priorities are aligned and our Departments are in regular contact at ministerial and official level.

Leasehold

Michael Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure that leasehold management companies meet their contractual obligations to tenants.

Alok Sharma: There are two codes of management practice, approved by the Secretary of State in June 2016, for the residential leasehold sector. These set out the law and best practice in relation to managing agents and tenants, and can be used in evidence in Court or tribunal proceedings.

Leasehold

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will introduce regulations on the level of maintenance fees borne by leaseholders.

Alok Sharma: In 2014 the Government took action to cap repair charges imposed on leaseholders by public sector landlords for government-funded maintenance. In addition, since 2014 all property managing agents in England must belong to one of three approved redress schemes, allowing consumers to follow up complaints and drive up standards with the least regulatory burden. The Government has no plans to regulate leaseholders’ maintenance fees.

Mayors

Heidi Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to his oral contribution of 5 July 2017, Official Report, column 1156, on revenue-raising powers for mayors, who will disburse the new funding referred; how that funding will be disbursed; and whether that funding will be available to all local authorities across England.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 13 July 2017



The funding of £770 million, to which my Rt Hon Friend referred, is to be disbursed by government to the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and comprises £600 million capital investment funding to be paid at £20 million per year for 30 years, and £170 million to be made available for housing and infrastructure, £70 million being for investment in Cambridge City. In addition, the Combined Authority Mayor has powers to set a precept for 2018/19 and subsequent years, with increases subject to the council tax referendum arrangements.

Landlords

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to the contribution of Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon of 23 March 2015 to proceedings on the Selective Licensing of Houses (Additional Conditions) (England) Order 2015, Official Report, HL Deb, column 331, whether the review of the impact of those changes 18 months after their introduction has been undertaken; and if he will place a copy of that review in the Library.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

High Rise Flats: Fire Prevention

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of whether additional costs to local authorities for fire prevention measures in tower blocks will reduce expenditure on the maintenance of other social housing.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

High Rise Flats: Construction

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what information his Department holds on the number of residential tower blocks which are (a) currently being built and (b) due to start construction soon.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

High Rise Flats: Construction

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of recommending a moratorium on the construction of new residential tower blocks until the recommendations of the inquiry into the Grenfell Tower fire have been published.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Government Departments: Fire Prevention

Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, with reference to his oral contribution of 26 June 2017, Official Report, column 348, if he will list the 15 buildings that are part of the Government estate that require further investigation.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many disabled people have waited for longer than six months for adaptions to their home funded by Disability Facilities Grants in England in each of the last seven years.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 13 July 2017



Managing waiting lists for adaptations is a matter for local authorities but government has significantly increased funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant to ensure that more people receive the adaptations they need promptly and to help local areas reduce waiting times for adaptations. Funding for 2017-18 is £431 million. This will rise to £468 million in 2018-19, and exceed £500 million in 2019-20.Government also funds Foundations, the National Body for Home Improvement Agencies, to offer advice and support on delivery of adaptations to Home Improvement Agencies and providers of handyperson services in England. More information can be found at: http://www.foundations.uk.com/about-us/foundations/

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it compulsory for a declaration of disability to feature on local authority application forms for (a) discretionary housing and (b) hardship payment.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Disabled Facilities Grants

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether he plans to increase funding for the Disabled Facilities Grant.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 13 July 2017



Government is committed to helping vulnerable older and disabled people to live independently and safely. In the 2015 Spending Review, Government committed to a year-on-year increase for the Disabled Facilities Grant over the five years of the Spending Review period, rising to over £500 million by 2020.Since 2012 we have invested £1.65 billion into the Disabled Facilities Grant, providing around 250,000 adaptations. Funding has increased from £220 million in 2015-16 to £431 million in 2017-18. In 2018-19, it will rise to £468 million, and exceed £500 million in 2018-20.

Private Rented Housing: Greater London

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the effect of borough-wide licensing schemes on the value of buy-to-rent properties in (a) London and (b) each London borough.

Alok Sharma: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Local Government: Disability

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many disabled people are employed (a) full-time and (b) part-time by local authorities in England.

Mr Marcus Jones: Holding answer received on 13 July 2017



The Department does not collect detailed information on the staff employed by local authorities. It is for individual councils to make their own decisions about how their local workforces are organised. In doing so, we expect councils to take into account their duties and responsibilities as employers under employment law and other relevant legislation.

HM Treasury

Education and Skills Funding Agency

Justin Tomlinson: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to remove the 10-year restriction on the community use of facilities partly or wholly funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Andrew Jones: The 10-year restriction on community use activity, including community use that comprises business activity, is in place to avoid misuse of the zero rate of VAT which can be applied to the construction of buildings used for charities’ non-business activity. There are no plans to remove this restriction.

Treasury: Equality

Kate Green: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps his Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

Elizabeth Truss: I refer the Honourable Member for Stretford and Urmston to the answer given by the Right Honourable member for Ashford in response to PQ3079.

Roads: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the Barnett consequential the Welsh Assembly will receive with the implementation of the National Road Fund.

Elizabeth Truss: The National Roads Fund will commence in 2020-21. The Barnett Formula will be applied in the normal way when allocations are made from the Fund.

Foreign Exchange

Ian Murray: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2017 to Question 2292, whether he plans to publish the results of the research on foreign exchange (a) separately from the Government's response to the consultation, (b) in conjunction with the Government's response to the consultation or (c) not at all; if he will bring forward amendments to the draft Payment Services regulations as a result of the findings; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Barclay: In my answer of 5 July I stated that the Government was conducting research on the effects of transparency in overseas money transfers (involving foreign exchange), on consumer decisions. This research will help to inform the Government’s response to the consultation on the implementation of the second Payment Services Directive. The Government will need to weigh up the benefits of requiring greater transparency with other considerations, such as the Government’s approach to implementing maximum harmonising Directives.The Government’s consultation response will be published shortly. However, the Government does not intend to publish the research at this point in time as it relates to the formulation and development of ongoing government policy

Treasury: Deloitte and Touche

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the number and value of contracts awarded by his Department was to Deloitte in each year since 2010.

Andrew Jones: The information requested is listed below. The contract values may not be indicative of the expenditure value where these are demand led requirements.  Calendar YearVolumeValue (£m)20101£3.920111£0.420122£0.920131£0.120141£0.0720152£0.220161£22017--

Consumer Price Index: Personal Savings

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the recent rise in consumer price index on household savings.

Stephen Barclay: Household financial positions are stronger than before the financial crisis: net financial wealth as a share of income is close to record highs; debt to income is below pre-crisis levels; and debt interest payments to income are at a record low. The Government is continuing to take action to support household incomes. This includes increasing the National Living Wage, raising the personal allowance and freezing fuel duty. Additionally, the Government created the new Lifetime ISA in April 2017 that enables people to save up to £4,000 a year tax free, with a 25% government bonus.

Pay

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what forecast he has mad of the change in the level of real-terms pay for the 2017-18 financial year.

Stephen Barclay: The Office for Budget Responsibility’s Spring Budget 2017 forecast was for nominal wage growth to increase in each year of the forecast. Inflation is expected to weigh on real earnings growth in the near term, before returning to 2.0% from 2019 onwards. The Government is taking action to support incomes. The introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW) has benefitted around 1.7 million low paid workers and delivered the fastest wage growth for the lowest paid in 20 years. Further increases to the NLW in April this year have delivered an additional increase in earnings of over £500 a year for a full-time worker.

Revenue and Customs: Internet

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many times the employment status service tool on HM Revenue and Customs' website has been used since its public beta launch; and what proportion of that use has resulted in the client being informed that the (a) intermediaries legislation applies, (b) intermediaries legislation does not apply and (c) status cannot be determined.

Mel Stride: The check employment status for tax service has been used over 450,000 times since the public beta launch in March 2017. It may be used to check if the intermediaries legislation applies, and for other employment status queries. HM Revenue and Customs monitors total usage of the service but not the split between the different uses, so does not hold the information requested.

Public Sector: Pay

Kirsty Blackman: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of the public sector pay gap on the average levels of household pay in the last five years.

Elizabeth Truss: Public sector pay remains, on average, comparable to private sector pay. But, HM Treasury analysis, as well as independent studies, show public sector pay at a significant premium when pensions are taken into account. This analysis is not broken down by household.

Pensions: Tax Allowances

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total amount of tax relief paid by higher rate taxpayers who had contributed to their pensions in that year was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Mel Stride: The estimated cost to the Exchequer from tax relief on pension contributions may be found in the published National Statistics produced by HMRC here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/registered-pension-schemes-cost-of-tax-relief Estimates of the number of people making contributions into personal pensions and the value of their contributions by different income levels can be found in Table 3.8 at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/deductions-and-reliefs-2010-to-2011

Revenue and Customs: ICT

Jon Trickett: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HM Revenue and Customs has (a) completed or (b) extended the phased exit from the Aspire contract.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has successfully exited the Aspire IT contract, which ended on 30 June 2017. HMRC is now working with a diverse range of suppliers to deliver a modern, agile IT function that supports its commitment to create a tax authority fit for the future. Its ground-breaking IT commercial model is on target to save around £200 million a year by 2020-21, on a like-for-like basis.

Hermes

Frank Field: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, by what date he expects HM Revenue and Customs to have concluded its investigation into Hermes.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs do not comment on identifiable cases because of their duty to maintain taxpayer confidentiality.

Motor Sports: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what representations his Department has received from the Welsh Government on the Circuit of Wales project.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department notified the Welsh Government that the entire debt relating to the Circuit of Wales project could be classified against the Welsh Government's capital spending.

Jonathan Edwards: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Welsh Government first discussed the balance sheet treatment of debt relating to the Circuit of Wales project with his Department.

Elizabeth Truss: I have regular discussions with the Welsh Government on a range of matters of importance to Wales and the UK.

Revenue and Customs: Consultants

Keith Vaz: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many contracts exist between HM Revenue and Customs and (a) KPMG, (b) Ernst & Young, (c) Deloitte and (d) PwC; and what the value is of each such contract.

Mel Stride: HM Revenue and Customs’ current contracts with these organisations are as follows. OrganisationContractValueKPMGCivil Service Learning Training Contract£3.86m paErnst & YoungNone£0DeloitteForensic Accountancy Services£538k paPwCEstates Transformation Support£225k total

Department for Exiting the European Union

European Medicines Agency: Staff

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, what estimate he has made of the number of European Medicines Agency employees resident in the UK.

Mr Robin Walker: The UK Government does not centrally hold data of European Union staff based on residency. However, European Medicines Agency staff data, including nationalities, can be found in their 2016 annual report. 



EMA Annual Report 2016
(PDF Document, 9.61 MB)

Immigration: EU Nationals

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the policy paper The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the position of EU Citizens living in the UK and UK nationals living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether the reciprocal agreement on citizens' rights change the power of the devolved legislatures.

Mr Robin Walker: The reciprocal agreement on citizens' rights will apply to the entire United Kingdom, including the devolved administrations. Decisions that are currently made by the devolved administrations will continue to be made by them.

Immigration

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to the Government's publication The United Kingdom's Exit from the European Union: Safeguarding the Position of EU Citizens Living in the UK and UK Nationals Living in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether the reciprocal agreement on citizens' rights will be subject to renegotiation after a specified time period.

Mr Robin Walker: The Prime Minister has been clear that we want to secure the status of EU citizens in the UK as early as possible and we are not considering the idea of renegotiation. In return we expect both the EU and its Member States to make the same commitment to UK nationals living in the EU.The arrangements set out in the Withdrawal Agreement, which will have status of international law, will be enshrined in UK law and enforceable through the UK judicial system, up to and including the Supreme Court. This will allow all UK and EU citizens resident in the UK to access the UK legal system for purposes of the withdrawal agreement.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 35 of his Department's policy paper entitled, Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what evidence non-UK EU nationals will need to provide in order to prove five years' residence and obtain settled status.

Mr Robin Walker: The Government intends to make the process as streamlined as possible for all individuals. We intend to use existing government data, such as income records, to minimise the burden of documentary evidence required (for example, to prove continuous residence). It is likely that those EU citizens and their family members who wish to take advantage of the streamlined digital process will need to provide evidence of their passport to prove their identity.More details on the new scheme will be provided once agreement is reached with the EU. We intend to make the new application process as user friendly as possible.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to his Department's policy paper entitled, Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what plans he has in respect of the (a) residence and (b) acquired EU rights of non-UK EU nationals who have previously lived in the UK but are no longer resident in the UK.

Mr Robin Walker: Those who have been living in the UK for five years before the specified date and want to continue to make the UK their home will be able to apply for settled status to stay indefinitely after we exit.As is the case for those holding permanent residence status under EU law, those who have already lived in the UK for over five years but were not present at the time of the specified date will still be eligible for settled status if that absence was less than two consecutive years.

Brexit

Tracy Brabin: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2017 to Question 239, on what dates he plans to release the list of sectors his Department has been examining.

Mr Robin Walker: The list of sectors that we have been examining will be published shortly. Parliament has agreed that we will not publish anything that would undermine the Government’s ability to negotiate the best deal for Britain, and our commitment to publication does not mean that we have changed our position on revealing information which may harm our negotiating position.

British Nationals Abroad: EU Countries

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to his Department's policy paper, Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, what his policy is on the legal status of UK nationals residing in other EU member states in the context of the negotiations on the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: While the UK remains a member of the European Union, the EU must continue to honour the rights and legal obligations of UK nationals resident in the EU, under EU Treaties.The government has been clear that we want to reach a reciprocal agreement for EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU as quickly as possible.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, with reference to paragraph 6 of his Department's policy paper, Safeguarding the position of EU citizens in the UK and UK nationals in the EU, published on 26 June 2017, whether the rights accrued by those who obtain settled status in the UK will be for life.

Mr Robin Walker: EU citizens who obtain settled status and remain resident in the UK will have no immigration conditions placed on their residence in the UK, be able to work or study here freely, live permanently in the UK with a partner who has settled status or is a UK national, and have access to benefits and public services in line with UK nationals.The proposed arrangements will be enshrined in UK law and enforceable through the UK judicial system, up to and including the Supreme Court. We are also ready to make commitments in the Withdrawal Agreement which will have the status of international law.

European Union: English Language

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, whether the English language would cease to be an official language of the EU after the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Mr Robin Walker: While the UK will maintain an interest, any decision on official languages of the EU after the UK’s withdrawal will be one to be taken by the EU institutions and their Member States.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Advertising

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how much his Department has spent on advertising on social media in each month since January 2016.

Chloe Smith: Since January 2016, the Department has not incurred any expenditure for advertising on social media.

Absent Voting: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he plans to review the proxy vote process in Northern Ireland to reduce the risk of misuse.

Chloe Smith: The administration of proxy voting is an operational matter for the Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland who will, following the Parliamentary election in June, conduct a routine post-election review of all administrative procedures. The Electoral Commission will also report on the administration of the election in due course. The Government will consider any recommendations about dealing with fraud from the Chief Electoral Officer and the Electoral Commission carefully. More broadly, I also refer the hon Member to the Government response to Sir Eric Pickles’ review of electoral fraud; the Government will consider what changes recommended for Great Britain may also be appropriate for Northern Ireland.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Broadband: Oxford West and Abingdon

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to improve broadband connectivity in Oxford West and Abingdon constituency.

Matt Hancock: Broadband is a modern necessity and the Department is working hard to ensure that everyone in Britain has the connection they need to be involved in our digital society. The Government has invested £1.7 billion of public money to support vital improvements in broadband services across the UK. This funding has created more than four million new superfast connections to date. Over 93% of UK premises are now able to access superfast speeds and we are on track to reach our target of 95% by the end of the year. The constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon falls within the area covered by Better Broadband for Oxfordshire (http://www.betterbroadbandoxfordshire.org.uk/cms/). The government has invested over £8 million in the Better Broadband for Oxfordshire project, with local funds contributing over £13 million further. Over 4,600 premises in the constituency have received superfast broadband coverage as a result of this project. Superfast coverage in the constituency sits at over 98.8% according to third party monitoring by ThinkBroadband http://labs.thinkbroadband.com/local/oxford-west-and-abingdon,E14000874.

BBC: Video On Demand

Layla Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she had with the BBC before the introduction of compulsory registration for BBC iPlayer services.

Matt Hancock: Requiring users to register for BBC iPlayer services was a decision taken by the BBC. The BBC is operationally and editorially independent from government, and the government has had no formal engagement with the BBC on this issue.

Charitable Donations

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to encourage people to give to charities.

Tracey Crouch: The British people are some of the most generous in the world. 73% of Brits give money to charity every month and almost £10 billion was donated to charitable causes in 2016. I think you would agree that is a breathtaking and commendable amount. This Government is fully committed to helping to build a compassionate country that works for everyone, and this Department will continue its work to make it as easy and compelling as possible to give to charitable causes. We are currently taking steps to help civil society organisations access the tools and training they need to harness the generosity of the public. The Foundation for Social Improvement launched our subsidised fundraising training programme on 6 July this year. The training will equip staff at small charities with the skills needed to raise further donations from the public.

National Citizen Service Trust

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department has taken in response to the recommendations and findings of the report of the National Audit Office into the National Citizen Service, published in January 2017.

Tracey Crouch: DCMS and the NCS Trust welcomed the NAO’s report and are working closely together to address their recommendations and findings. In particular, the NCS Act received Royal Assent in April and the NCS Trust were granted a Royal Charter in May 2017. Together, these will make the Trust directly accountable to Parliament for its use of public money and preserve the Trust's operational independence.

National Citizen Service Trust

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the Answer of 31 October 2016 to Question 50448, whether she has been presented with a list of patrons of the National Citizen Service; and if she will publish that list when it is available.

Tracey Crouch: NCS Trust will announce its new Board of Patrons on Friday 14th July, and the list will be published on its website (www.ncsyes.co.uk).

Charitable Donations

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking in response to the feedback obtained from the Giving Roundtables held in 2016.

Tracey Crouch: The Giving Roundtables were a great success and provided a refreshing injection of energy into the Government’s drive to encourage more giving. The generous British public already donate so much to charitable causes - almost £10 billion in 2016 - but the feedback from the Roundtables showed that there are further opportunities to make it easier and more compelling to give. We heard that more needed to be done to support small charities and our subsidised fundraising training programme, launched by the Foundation for Social Improvement on 6 July 2017, delivers that support. This is a multi-year programme which provides expert advice on building the digital fundraising capabilities of small charities. Further announcements will be made in due course.

Charities: Fund Raising

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many places have been provided on the Small Charities Fundraising Training Programme in (a) 2106 and (b) 2017.

Tracey Crouch: The Fundraising Training Programme is a fantastic opportunity for staff from small charities to learn new digital skills and strengthen their ability to fundraise. The Office for Civil Society’s training delivery partners provided over 3,000 places on the pilot programme in 2016. From 6 July 2017 onwards, there will be more than 10,000 places available at face-to-face training sessions, intensive one-to-one advice sessions, skilled volunteering matches, and webinars. Along with these learning opportunities, the programme providers offer a range of online resources, toolkits, and guides to ensure that small charity staff have access to everything they need to effectively fundraise.

Charities

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Office for Civil Society has conducted an analysis of the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU on charities.

Tracey Crouch: The government is continuing to assess the potential impact of the UK leaving the EU on charities and other civil society organisations. We are gathering information on the challenges and opportunities exiting the EU presents and are listening to the concerns and priorities of civil society organisations.

Social Investment Advisory Group

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she expects the Advisory Group on socially themed investments announced on 6 December 2016 to provide its initial findings.

Tracey Crouch: The Advisory Group are expecting to publish a full report with recommendations for industry and government in Autumn.

Newspaper Press

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when she last met an editor or proprietor of a national newspaper.

Matt Hancock: Details of ministerial meetings are published quarterly here on gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?keywords=&publication_filter_option=transparency-data&topics%5B%5D=all&departments%5B%5D=department-for-culture-media-sport&official_document_status=all&world_locations%5B%5D=all&from_date=&to_date=)

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps her Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

Matt Hancock: I refer the Honourable Member for Stretford and Urmston to the answer given by the Right Honourable member for Ashford in response to PQ3079.

Cybercrime: Business

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what (a) financial and (b) other steps she is taking to help protect businesses from future cyber threats; and if she will make a statement.

Matt Hancock: The Government’s National Cyber Security Strategy (2016-2021, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-cyber-security-strategy-2016-to-2021) sets out a five-year transformational plan, backed with £1.9 billion investment, to make Britain secure and resilient in cyberspace. This includes opening the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to help make the UK the safest place to live and do business online. The Cyber Essentials scheme sets out measures businesses should take to protect themselves from the most common internet threats and the Cyber Aware campaign offers simple and practical advice to help small businesses stay safe online. A wide range of regularly updated cyber security guidance and support is available via the NCSC website www.ncsc.gov.uk and on www.gov.uk. My Department is also funding the development of two Cyber Innovation Centres in London and Cheltenham to help ensure businesses have access to cutting edge technology to help maintain their cyber security.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: Advertising

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much her Department has spent on advertising on social media in each month since January 2016.

Matt Hancock: Since January 2016 the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport spent the following amount on social media: DateSpendJanuary 2016£0February 2016£0March 2016£0April 2016£0May 2016£0June 2016£0July 2016£176August 2016£0September 2016£0October 2016£0November 2016£280December 2016£0January 2017£0February 2017£385March 2017£0April 2017£496.56May 2017£400June 2017£0

Social Media: Hate Crime

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with social media companies on the adoption of a consistent approach to reporting and removing hate speech across all platforms.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with social media companies to ensure that they comply with their terms of service on removing offensive content including hate speech from their platforms.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with social media companies on educating their employees on (a) antisemitic, (b) Islamophobic and (c) racist images or discourse on their platforms.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions she has had with social media companies to agree a single working definition of hate crime between all platforms.

Matt Hancock: We regularly meet major social media companies to discuss online harm and other issues.

Gaming Machines: Reviews

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made an assessment of the findings of the Fixed Odds Betting Terminals All Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry report, published on 31 January 2017.

Tracey Crouch: A review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures was launched in October 2016. The 31 January report by the APPG on FOBTs will be taken into consideration as part of the review.

Gaming Machines

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when the Review of Stakes and Prizes will be published.

Tracey Crouch: A review of gaming machines and social responsibility measures was launched in October 2016. Due to the cross government process required prior to publication, we do not anticipate any further announcements before October.

Video Games: Classification Schemes

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the fitness for purpose of age certification for videogames.

Matt Hancock: In 2012, following full public consultation on options, the Government brought into force a single classification system for video games, based on the Pan European Games Information (PEGI) age ratings. The PEGI ratings criteria are reviewed on an annual basis, and the latest moderation in 2016 ushered in a number of modifications. These are influenced by the UK Sensibilities Study, which our Games Rating Authority is required to take into account as per the Video Recordings Act. Age ratings play an important role in providing greater clarity for consumers around the age-suitability of products, and Government will continue to work with industry and the age ratings bodies to encourage their further promotion.

Video Games

Ben Lake: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the penalties for (a) parents or guardians and (b) retailers who knowingly provide videogames to children who are younger than the recommended age rating.

Matt Hancock: Age restrictions are applied at the point of sale, which means that any retailer convicted of supplying a PEGI 12, 16 or 18 product to someone not meeting the specific age requirement faces a possible jail term and/or fine. Educational initiatives such as AskAboutGames are in place to encourage parents/carers to look carefully at the age ratings and content advice when making purchases for children, and Government will continue to work with industry to support adults to making responsible, informed decisions that protect children from inappropriate content.

Broadband

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with BT and Openreach on the location of unlit fibre and ducting laid across the UK.

Matt Hancock: Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with BT and Openreach. Openreach has introduced an online mapping tool, which provides other telecoms providers with the locations of its poles and underground ducts, although the tool was introduced in the context of PIA (its duct and pole access remedy).

Broadband: Scotland

Stephen Kerr: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions her Department has had with BT and Openreach on pilot projects to utilise fibre laid above ground via existing utility poles, especially in rural areas of Scotland.

Matt Hancock: Ministers regularly discuss a wide range of issues with BT and Openreach.The use of utility infrastructure to deploy telecommunications fibre has been made easier by the Communications (Access to Infrastructure) Regulations 2016, which transposed the EU Broadband Cost Reduction Directive to UK law. This ensures that digital communications providers can access other providers’ physical infrastructure, across a range of sectors, on fair and reasonable terms.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union on the potential benefits for UK performers touring abroad of retaining membership of the European Health Insurance Card system after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: The UK will seek to protect the ability of individuals who are eligible for a UK European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), before the specified date, to continue to benefit from free, or reduced cost, needs-arising healthcare while on a temporary stay in the EU. This is subject to the EU agreeing that these rights will be reciprocated by EU member states. The UK will also seek an ongoing arrangement akin to the EHIC scheme as part of negotiations on our future arrangements with the EU.

Eurimages

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the Government plans to re-join Eurimages.

Matt Hancock: There are no current plans to re-join Eurimages following the UK's departure in 1995. We will continue to keep under review how such programmes can support British film.

Arts: European Union

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to ensure the UK's continued participation in the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees on (a) live performance and (b) audio-visual after the UK leaves the EU.

Matt Hancock: European organisations, who are the social partners that contribute and engage with the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee are not restricted to organisations that are within the EU. For example, the EBU (European Broadcasting Union), which represents 73 public service broadcasters in 56 Countries, participates in the Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee for Audio-visual. Insofar as UK organisations are represented in the social partners, we expect no change to the continued participation

Musicians: Entry Clearances

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential effect on the travelling of orchestras and orchestral performers of new visa arrangements for people entering the UK from the EU after the UK leaves the EU.

John Glen: The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has held a series of roundtables with the sector on the impacts and opportunities affecting the creative industries as a result of the UK's exit from the EU, including representations from the music industry regarding the free movement of orchestras and musicians. The Department remains committed to working closely with the music sector on new arrangements after the UK leaves the EU.

Performing Arts: Equality

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions she has had with representatives of the performing arts industry on diversity and social mobility of performers in that industry.

John Glen: Ensuring that our arts and culture represent everyone is good for business, good for creativity and good for our communities. The Secretary of State, her Ministerial team and DCMS officials reguarly meet with a wide range of stakeholders across the arts and culture sector including Arts Council England and performing arts organisations and discuss a number of issues including what can be done to support diversity both on and off the stage. The Arts Council has committed £11.8m of its strategic funds since December 2015 to support and increase diversity within the arts including the Sustained Theatre Fund which offers support to the development of BME theatre makers across the wider theatre sector in England. The fund has awarded £500,000 to eleven organisations including Eclipse Theatre who will deliver a programme that will support over 1,200 black artists in the North by increasing access to local, national and international networks and opportunities for BAME artists.

Department of Health

NHS: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will place in the Library a copy of (a) the document circulated to NHS officials in London on 25 May 2017 on the effect of the capped expenditure process, (b) any equivalent document circulated to such officials in other areas affected by the capped expenditure process and (c) the letter referred to in the 27 June 2017 edition of the Health Service Journal.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of the Capped Expenditure Process on (a) obstetrics, (b) mental health services and (c) waiting times for cancer treatment in (i) Cheshire and (ii) England.

Mr Philip Dunne: The National Health Service and wider health system has examined how to sustain and improve care – which produced the NHS Five Year Forward View. The Government committed to providing an additional £10 billion in real terms by 2020-21 to back the NHS’s plan, enabling it to deliver key priorities like seven day care, improved access to cancer treatments and better mental health services. All public services, local NHS areas need to live within the budget agreed – otherwise they effectively take up resources that could be spent on general practitioners, mental health care, and cancer treatment. As part of their financial planning, NHS England and NHS Improvement have been running a process to look at how a small number of areas could do more to balance their financial plans, as many already have. The NHS is required to meet its operational standards as set out in the mandate and ensure access to appropriate care for all, in line with the NHS constitution. It is right that the NHS should consider efficiency savings such as reducing delayed transfers of care, reducing running costs, or reviewing treatments that are of low clinical effectiveness – because this improves patient care overall.NHS England and NHS Improvement have designed and implemented the capped expenditure process working with the local NHS. Local communications are not held centrally.

NHS: Procurement

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the set up costs were of the NHS Intelligent Client Coordinator project.

Mr Philip Dunne: The NHS Intelligent Client Coordinator Project is part of the Procurement Transformation Programme, which focusses on delivering some of the recommendations set out in Lord Carter’s Report. The programme will deliver £2.4 billion of savings for the National Health Service over the lifetime of the business case through radical improvements in our procurement of everyday hospital consumables which the NHS currently spends over £5 billion per annum on to treat patients across the country. The forecast cost associated with the set-up of the new NHS Intelligent Client Coordinator body, which will take over the management of Department of Health Supply Chain contracts from the NHS Business Services Authority, is in the range of £7 million - £16 million.

Health Services: Legislation

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans the Government has to introduce legislation relating to health policy during this Parliament.

Mr Philip Dunne: The legislative programme for the next two years has been announced in the Queen’s Speech – including a draft Patient Safety Bill, which will be published in due course. Plans to reform the way mental health legislation works, and a consultation on social care policy, were also announced.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Finance

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2017 to Question 681, if he will list all clinical commissioning groups that are subject to the capped expenditure process.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England have confirmed that they plan to publish the list of clinical commissioning groups that are subject to the capped expenditure process in due course.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to prevent discrimination against whistle-blowers when they seek employment with NHS Employers.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Employers, which is part of the NHS Confederation, has a contract with the Department to provide advice, guidance and good practice to the National Health Service on workforce issues. This includes advising employers across the NHS in England on what they need to do to prevent discrimination against whistleblowers. The Department is not aware of whistleblowers seeking employment with NHS Employers.

Cancer

Helen Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when Health Education England will publish its report on the future shape and skills mix of the cancer workforce.

Mr Philip Dunne: Broad analysis of the cancer workforce will be published shortly in Health Education England's annual Workforce Plan for England, and in a series of detailed professional group reports, which outline the full range of workforce issues facing the health and care system. The Workforce Plan for England 2017/18 describes the scale and nature of these challenges, but also contains proposals for the active management of these workforce issues across the system at local and national level. The Workforce Plan will be supplemented by a range of other documents which will be published over a range of timescales, one of which is the Cancer Workforce Plan, which Health Education England have committed to publish in summer 2017.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-UK EU citizens work in the NHS in England.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes data on the nationality of staff working in the National Health Service in England. Nationality is self-reported within the NHS human resources and payroll system, the electronic staff record.As of 31 March 2017, latest data available, there are now 61,934 (headcount) European Union nationals (excluding United Kingdom), or 5.2% employed in the NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups.

NHS: Migrant Workers

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-UK EU citizens who were working in the NHS have left the UK since 23 June 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne: The number of non-United Kingdom European Union citizens who were working in the National Health Service and have left the UK since 23 June 2016 is not collected centrally. In June 2016 we had 58,698 EU workers, and in March 2017 we had 61,934 EU workers employed in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups. This is 3,236 more than in June 2016 and 1,551 more than in December 2016. We are committed to ensuring that the NHS and social care system have the nurses, midwives, doctors, carers and other health professionals that it needs. As EU Exit negotiations continue the Department and its arm’s length bodies will continue to support the health system’s preparation for EU Exit to ensure the NHS is able to deliver the services that patients rely on. The Department is continuing to undertake analysis and monitoring of overall staffing levels across the NHS as part of our workforce planning.

Neurology: Staff

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the number of interventional neuroradiologists in England; and whether he plans to increase that number.

Mr Philip Dunne: Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for the planning and funding of post-registration medical education. HEE works directly with a number of partners, including National Health Service trusts, to assess demand and supply for clinical staff, and commissions programmes of education accordingly. HEE’s investment in training reflects the relative priorities the NHS and HEE have to develop the future workforce, including Radiology. HEE is working with the Royal College of Radiologists and other stakeholders to explore options for developing the necessary competencies in Interventional Radiology specialists, including those who currently do not have the required Interventional Neuroradiology experience; including Neurosurgeons and Cardiologists.

Strokes: Medical Treatments

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the announcement by NHS England of 11 April 2017 on mechanical thrombectomy, what estimate he has made of the savings in long-term health and social care costs from those stroke patients who receive a mechanical thrombectomy each year.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the announcement by NHS England of 11 April 2017 on mechanical thrombectomy, when the assessment of the readiness of each of the 24 neuroscience centres to carry out mechanical thrombectomy will be completed; and whether the results of this assessment will be published.

Mrs Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the announcement by NHS England of 11 April 2017 on mechanical thrombectomy, when NHS England will start to commission mechanical thrombectomy; when it is planned that the first 1,000 patients will be refitted from mechanical thrombectomy; and when it is planned that 8,000 patients a year will be benefitting from mechanical thrombectomy.

Steve Brine: NHS England agreed to fund thrombectomy for stroke in April 2017.Progression to full implementation will need to take place on a phased basis to ensure the service providers can put in place the necessary staffing and working arrangements. In the short term there will be an interim set of arrangements.Initially the procedure will be undertaken in neuroscience centres which are currently being assessed to ensure that they meet the standards set out in the service specification that is currently out for public consultation. This information will be used by a national oversight group and regional commissioning teams to assess who is able to provide the service in this interim period and will not be published. Further work with the providers of this service will be completed with regional commissioners and the services directly to establish clear action plans which will lead to full implementation.It is anticipated that there will be some 1,000 cases completed by the end of March 2018; and that, by 2023, about 10% of stroke admissions in England (8,000 cases) will be treated with thrombectomy annually. NHS England have not undertaken an independent cost benefit analysis of thrombectomy but there have been research studies published such as Jean Ganesalingam et al – “Cost-Utility Analysis of Mechanical Thrombectomy Using Stent Retrievers”, in Acute Ischemic Stroke 2015;46:2591-2598. This showed that it is a highly cost effective treatment, particularly when the longer term health and social care costs are taken into account.

Prescriptions

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the NHS England review on ending prescriptions for certain items that can be purchased over the counter, (a) which items are being reviewed and (b) how many and which items are projected to be reviewed during the current Parliament.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the projected savings are for the NHS of ending prescriptions for certain items that can be purchased over the counter.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what impact assessment has been made of the effect of increasing costs on patients of plans to end prescriptions for certain items that can be purchased over the counter.

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when his Department plans to issue guidance to GPs on ending prescriptions for certain items that can be purchased over the counter.

Steve Brine: NHS England is leading a review of medicines which may be considered as being of low clinical value and is working with NHS Clinical Commissioners to develop new guidance for clinical commissioning groups. NHS England expects to publish a consultation on the draft guidance shortly. The Department has not made an impact assessment on this work.

Department of Health: Equality

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the oral Answer of 2 November 2016, Official Report, column 879, what steps his Department has taken to use 2011 census classifications, including on Gypsies and Travellers, to audit racial disparities in public service outcomes.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Race Disparity Audit will publish Government data about ethnicity on a website. The data will show the ethnic classifications available for each dataset covered, including where available for Gypsies and Travellers.

Mental Health Services: Out of Area Treatment

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on eliminating out-of-area placements for mental health patients.

Jackie Doyle-Price: To support the delivery of this ambition, in October 2016 the Government put in place the first data collection to secure much-needed national transparency on the number of patients that are sent out of their local area for acute inpatient treatment. More than £400 million which has been made available for investment in mental health crisis resolution home treatment teams over the next four years, enabling them to provide 24/7 crisis response and intensive home treatment as a genuine alternative to admission where appropriate.

Dental Services: Children

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on the proportion of children under the age of two who have visited an NHS dentist in the last 12 months.

Steve Brine: The table below shows the number of children under the age of two who were seen by an NHS dentist in England in the 12 months to June 2017.Patient Age (at 30 June 2017)Number of Current Child PatientsPopulationAccess Rate %017,628669,1032.61132,544669,81719.8Under 2150,1721,338,92011.2

Organs: Donors

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what comparative assessment he has made of the number of BAME organ donors and longer transplant waiting times for patients from those backgrounds.

Jackie Doyle-Price: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is the organ donor organisation for the United Kingdom and is responsible for promoting organ donation and the matching and offering of donated organs. Patients from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities are more likely to need an organ transplant as they are more at risk of disease that require transplant of diabetes. The national deceased donor consent rate for the BAME community in 2016/17 is 35% compared to 66% in the white population and, on average, patients from BAME communities will wait a year longer for a kidney transplant than a white patient, due to the lack of suitable organs. We remain committed to tackling this issue and supporting work to increase donation rates. It is encouraging that we have seen the highest increase in deceased donor and transplant rates from these communities, with increases of 27% and 15% respectively since 2013, but we need to do more and are actively looking at the best way to do this. NHSBT has produced a comprehensive report on data for donors and patients from BAME communities for 2016/17, which can be found at:https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/4480/bame_organ_donation_and_transplantation_data.pdf

NHS: Staff

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure safe staffing levels are maintained in the NHS.

Mr Philip Dunne: Appropriate staffing levels are already a core element of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC’s) registration regime underpinned by legislation. All providers of regulated activities must be registered with the CQC and meet the registration requirements. The 16 safety and quality requirements set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 include a requirement for the deployment of sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced persons. In July 2016, the National Quality Board published the report, “Supporting NHS providers to deliver the right staff, with the right skills, in the right place at the right time: Safe, Sustainable and productive staffing”. This safe staffing improvement resource provides an updated set of expectations for nursing and midwifery care staffing, to help National Health Service provider boards make local decisions that will support the delivery of high quality care for patients within the available staffing resource. It sets out the key principles and tools that provider boards should use to measure and improve their use of staffing resources to ensure safe, sustainable and productive services. The report can be accessed at: https://www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/part-rel/nqb/NHS Improvement is also leading the national programme to develop and deliver NHS safe staffing improvement resources for specific care settings, including acute inpatients and children’s services. We have not sought a prescriptive approach to staffing levels, for example by setting minimum levels of staffing for all services, because minimum staffing numbers and ratios do not take account of the local circumstances, skill mix or case mix. Such an approach can lead to a lack of flexibility or organisations seeking to achieve staffing levels only in accordance with a minimum ratio.

Department of Health: Redundancy

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many staff have left or agreed settlements to leave his Department under (a) voluntary exit, (b) voluntary redundancy and (c) compulsory redundancy since 1 November 2016; and how much compensation was paid in those cases.

Mr Philip Dunne: The number of staff that have left or agreed settlements to leave the Department since 1 November 2016 will be reported in the Annual Accounts. The 2016/17 Department of Health Annual Accounts will be published shortly.

Breast Cancer: Health Services

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the provision of specialised nursing care for people with secondary breast cancer.

Steve Brine: The National Cancer Programme is committed to rolling out stratified follow-up pathways in breast cancer by 2020 to ensure patients get the right care after treatment, including information and support to spot signs and symptoms of recurrence or secondary cancer. As well as providing a better experience for patients and ensuring they have the information they need, stratified pathways can offer more effective use of resources by freeing up outpatient capacity. They can also ensure that in cases where there is recurrence or secondary cancer, patients are supported to return to care quickly and effectively. NHS England is also working with key partners Health Education England and Macmillan Cancer Support, to understand the best approach to implementing the Taskforce’s recommendation that everyone should have access to a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other key worker by 2020.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to review the medical exemption criteria for prescription charges.

Steve Brine: We have no current plans to change the list of medical conditions which provide for exemption from prescription charges. Extending this exemption would have significant cost implications at a time when the National Health Service is facing increased demand and is expected to deliver efficiency savings of £22 billion by 2020.

Chester Hospital: Maternity Services

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress is being made on the investigation into maternity services at the Countess of Chester hospital.

Mr Philip Dunne: The investigation by Cheshire Constabulary into a number of baby deaths occurring between June 2015 and June 2016 in the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital is on-going, so we are not able to provide any further details at this time.

Carers

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to publish a carers strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government remains committed to supporting carers to provide care as they would wish, and to do so in a way that supports their own health and wellbeing, employment and wider life chances.We have said that more widely we will consult on proposals to improve social care. Next steps will be set out in due course.

Palliative Care

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the recommendations in the Government Response to the Review of Choice in End of Life Care will be implemented by 2020; and if he will make a statement.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the proposals made in each Sustainability and Transformation Plan regarding end of life care; and if he will make a statement.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of whether people from lower socio-economic groups are less likely to receive the end of life care which they choose.

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of people had access to advance care planning in advance of their death in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jackie Doyle-Price: On 5 July 2016 we published ‘Our Commitment to you for end of life care’, which set out what everyone should expect from their care at the end of life and the actions we are taking to make high quality, personalised care a reality for everyone by 2020. Over the last 12 months the National End of Life Care Programme Board has been taking forward implementation, and we are aiming to publish a progress report on the delivery of the Commitment this summer. This progress report will also set out the work being undertaken by the Programme Board to engage local Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships to support service planning for end of life of care and to embed choice. ‘Our Commitment to you for end of life care’ can be found at the following link:www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/536326/choice-response.pdfInformation regarding the proportion of people with access to advance care planning in advance of their death is not collected. However, the Government commitment also set out plans to will work with voluntary sector partners to raise public awareness nationally of issues around death and dying and the importance of enabling individuals to make end of life care plans in advance. NHS England contributed funding to the Dying Matters campaign in 2016/17 and also promoted Dying Matters Week via the National End of Life Care Programme Board and through the National Palliative and End of Life Care Network. We know there are inequities in terms of access to, and experience of, end of life care for lower socio-economic groups. Public Health England’s National End of Life Care Intelligence Network has published ‘What we know data’ reports that have linked lower socioeconomic status to lower rates of home death. That is why the ‘Ambitions for Palliative and End of Life Care, a national framework for local action’, includes ‘fair access to care’ as one of the six Ambitions. The framework was developed and signed up to by over 27 partners from across the system and the Government is supportive of its work. The Public Health England reports and information about the Ambitions Framework and the partnership can be found at the following links:www.endoflifecare-intelligence.org.uk/resources/publications/http://endoflifecareambitions.org.uk/

Prescription Drugs: Children and Young People

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the level of prescription of psychiatric drugs to children and young people in each year from 2000 to 2016.

Steve Brine: The NHS Business Services Authority can only provide a reliable estimate for the full calendar year January 2016 to December 2016. The number of psychiatric drugs dispensed to children and young people from January 2016 to December 2016 is 1,859,079. Therapeutic classifications defined in the British National Formulary for Psychiatric drugs have been defined as follows: 4.1 Hypnotics and anxiolytics4.2 Drugs used in psychoses and related disorders4.3 Antidepressants4.4 Central Nervous System stimulants and drugs used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder4.5 Drugs used in the treatment of obesity4.10 Drugs used in substance dependence4.11 Drugs for dementia Not all the products in these sections will be given for a psychiatric use case e.g. drugs used in obesity may or may not be given for a psychiatric use case.

Hyperactivity: Children and Young People

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will respond to the recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in its Concluding Observations on the fifth periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on the treatment of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and related disorders in children and young people.

Jackie Doyle-Price: We are considering the recommendations carefully and will provide a formal response in due course.

Organs: Donors

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2017 to Question 1450, on organ donors, if he will review that strategy to ensure it meets the target to achieve a consent rate of over 80 per cent by 2020.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The 2020 Oversight Group (with membership from the Department and the devolved administrations, NHS Blood and Transplant, professional bodies and voluntary sector stakeholders) was set up to review the progress of the ‘UK Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020’ Strategy (2013). The Group reviewed the strategy in November 2016 and developed a supplementary action plan, including identifying new actions that might contribute to increasing consent rates. The Group continues to monitor the impact of these actions Data for 2016/17 show the highest ever consent/authorisation rates, deceased organ donor and transplants rates but we want those rates to rise further, so everyone requiring a transplant stands the best chance of receiving one.

Department of Health: Advertising

Deidre  Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department has spent on advertising on social media in each month since January 2016.

Mr Philip Dunne: The information is not held in the format requested. Detailed information for spend on advertising by each individual category such as ‘social media’ is not available within the Department’s Business Management System centrally and to provide an answer by specific categories would require a review of each individual contract and invoice payment, and would result in disproportionate cost.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will instigate a national review of referral-to-treatment data.

Mr Philip Dunne: All parts of the National Health Service have a role to play in ensuring waiting time data are recorded accurately. The rules governing the measurement of consultant-led referral to treatment times are published in detail and can be accessed at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/rtt-waiting-times/rtt-guidance/ Referral to treatment data are reviewed on an ongoing basis and there are a wide range of existing processes in place to ensure that they are of good quality. Primary responsibility for ensuring waiting time data are produced in line with those rules rests with the chief executive of each trust and foundation trust. From April 2015, NHS Improvement has required all trust annual governance statements to include an explicit statement on how the trust will assure waiting time data quality, accuracy and risks. NHS Improvement has also mandated regular assurance of waiting times data within their respective accountability frameworks for trusts and foundation trusts through internal audit, external audit or quality reports.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many patients have died while on a waiting list for (a) heart surgery and (b) neurosurgery in each year since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not held centrally.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to increase the provision of specialist nurses for inflammatory bowel disease.

Mr Philip Dunne: It is the responsibility of individual National Health Service providers to ensure they have sufficient staff to provide safe and effective services. Complex Inflammatory Bowel Disease is recognised as a specialised service which is commissioned by NHS England. The standard NHS England contract to commission this service contains a requirement that commissioned providers should train and maintain the specialist nurses in order to provide the service.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Leeds

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many inflammatory bowel disease specialist nurses have been employed by the NHS in Leeds in each of the last five years.

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many inflammatory bowel disease specialist nurses have been employed by the NHS in England in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: This information is not collected centrally by NHS Digital.

General Practitioners: Repairs and Maintenance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has carried out to ensure that the proposed £1,000 financial assistance offered to GP practices which accept the full repairing lease contract will be sufficient to cover the legal and survey work associated with those leases.

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect on GP funding of the proposed full repairing leases offered to GP surgeries.

Steve Brine: The £1,000 + VAT offered to general practitioner practices is intended to assist with the legal fees associated with documenting a lease. The calculation is based on the fact that the ‘template’ lease has already been negotiated and agreed with NHS Property Services and the British Medical Association, which minimises negotiations with practices. The nature of lease – either Full Repairing and Insuring or Internal Repairs – determines the level of reimbursement for the current market rent. This includes both the lease rent and an element for upkeep of the tenanted areas. This is set out in the Premises Costs Directions 2013. Ultimately, it is for the landlord and tenant to agree the terms of any lease to suit their specific circumstances.

General Practitioners: Finance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to review the Carr-Hill funding formula for GP practices with atypical populations.

Steve Brine: NHS England recognises that atypical practices with a significantly skewed patient population will not necessarily have their workload reflected through the Carr-Hill Formula. It is for this reason that NHS England is exploring the additional demands on atypical practices, testing out in the first instance, the experiences of practices that serve university populations, practices with significant number of non-English speaking patients, and practices operating within remote or isolated areas. Commissioner guidance was published in December 2016 and further analysis of the workload implications is being undertaken.

General Practitioners: Buildings

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of increased service charges on GP surgeries which lease their buildings from NHS Property Services.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS England confirmed the introduction of the market rent model, applying the property sector’s standard method of charging, to the National Health Service in January 2016. It was part of a long-planned move across the public sector to improve utilisation and value for money in property occupancy by putting publicly-owned property on a level with privately-owned alternatives. The Department agrees that understanding the real cost of running public service buildings has benefits for tenants and the wider NHS: - It helps the NHS understand the true cost of occupation and reflect these transparently;- It informs decisions about the best location for services and investment; and- It drives better and more efficient use of space.Customer invoices should be based on accurate property information. This includes the precise amount of space used, as well as reflecting an assessment of the facilities provided for that space, e.g. cleaning, reception services and maintenance. This data was not always available in predecessor Primary Care Trust or Strategic Health Authority records.NHS Property Services owns only a small proportion of general practitioner (GP) surgeries in England and its approach is consistent with the way those with private sector landlords are treated. The company has endeavoured to improve the quality of its property data and to negotiate and agree lease terms with customers, providing them with the assurance they require. Transparently agreeing precise occupancy details is one reason why some GPs, areseeing their costs increase, while others have seen a reduction. NHS Property Services recognises a requirement from its customers to explain any billing changes fully and accurately. It shares their wish to make invoicing totally transparent and is focussed on this quality improvement work. Within the Premises Cost Direction 2013 under sections 46 and 47 there is the facility for the GP to apply to NHS England for transitional funding related to large increases to service charges. It is only by improved understanding of the true costs that better informed decisions about the best location for NHS services can be made, as well as also encouraging the most efficient use of NHS space – both of which are important elements of securing best value for taxpayers from the health service estate.

Maternity Services

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the leaders of the (a) review of neonatal services and (b) Maternity Transformation Programme to ensure that their work plans are co-ordinated to ensure continuity of care for mothers whose babies are admitted to neonatal care.

Mr Philip Dunne: My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has not met with leaders of the Maternity Transformation Programme (MTP) or neonatal review to discuss continuity of care in neonatal services. The neonatal review, conducted by NHS England’s Women and Children’s Programme of Care and its Neonatal Critical Care Clinical Reference Group, reports progress of the review into neonatal services to the MTP Board, as the review forms part of the overall MTP. The review focuses on a number of themes and variables including admission rates, length of stay, outcomes and pregnancy profiles. The findings of the neonatal review will inform the development and delivery of Local Maternity Plans, with recommendations that will include ensuring continuity of care for mothers whose babies are admitted to neonatal care.

Maternity Services

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the remit is of the review of neonatal services; and whether that remit includes the tariff for (a) neonatal and (b) transitional care.

Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, to what extent the Maternity Transformation Programme is considering the tariff for transitional care as part of its review of the maternity tariff.

Mr Philip Dunne: Better Births, the report of the National Maternity Review, recommended that a dedicated review of neonatal services should be taken forward, in light of its findings and their potential implications for the provision of neonatal care. Within that context, NHS England’s Women and Children’s Programme of Care and its Neonatal Critical Care Clinical Reference Group are undertaking a review of neonatal services under the auspices of the Maternity Transformation Programme. The review is focusing on a number of themes and variables including admission rates, length of stay, outcomes and pregnancy profiles. The findings will inform the development and delivery of Local Maternity System Plans with recommendations that will include ensuring continuity of care for mothers whose babies are admitted to neonatal care. The neonatal service review has a number of work streams including a pricing work stream. This involves the development of a pricing model to support the baby across the whole care pathway including transitional care.

Diseases: Screening

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make it his policy to introduce mandatory screening for severe combined immunodeficiency disorder at birth.

Mr Philip Dunne: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) reviewed the evidence for screening for severe combined immunodeficiency disorder at its 23 June 2017 meeting. The screening recommendation for this and other conditions discussed at the meeting will be published six weeks after the meeting and will be available on the UK NSC’s website.

Mental Health: Young People

Alex Chalk: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to (a) publicise adolescent mental health issues on the internet and (b) support the prevention of adolescent mental health issues arising from social media.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government works with the online sector and other stakeholders to address the impact of potentially harmful content online given that online harms can have a negative effect on individual's mental health.The Department has invested:- £3 million in MindEd, an online training platform for professionals working with children and young people to recognise when a child needs mental health support; and- £12 million between 2016-20 in Time to Change to challenge mental health stigma, which has reached 750,000 children and young people through social marketing campaigns and improved attitudes of over 4.1 million people in England.Public Health England has also launched Rise Above, a website to build emotional resilience in young people to help deal with the pressures of growing up, including mental health.The Government expect websites, including social media companies, to respond quickly to reports of harmful content/abusive behaviour on their networks.The joint Department of Health and Department of Education Green Paper on children and young people’s mental health will consider action to minimise the risks social media poses, whilst maximising its benefits. Work has started on the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport led cross-Government internet safety strategy which will give us the opportunity to consider issues of online safety for children and young people. We are considering how this will be taken forward under the Digital Charter.

General Practitioners: Repairs and Maintenance

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what basis the deadline of October 2017 has been set for GP surgeries to agree full repairing leases with NHS Property Services.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Full Repairing and Insuring Lease is a standard, recognised property industry lease and as such is put forward as a starting point in the Standard Lease Agreement agreed between NHS Property Services (NHS PS) and the British Medical Association in 2016. NHS England has committed to a date of 30 November 2017 by which it will offer certain additional benefits to general practitioner practices which enter into a Lease. These are as follows: - NHS England will reimburse Stamp Duty Land Tax for an initial term of up to 15 years;- NHS England will reimburse legal fees for conveyancing up to a maximum of £1,000, plus VAT; and- NHS England will reimburse the Management Fee for Service Charges for both 2016/17 and 2017/18. NHS PS is working with all GP practices to facilitate outcomes which work for both parties in all cases, using the framework as outlined by NHS England.

Visits Abroad: USA

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings he had on his visit to Houston, Texas in February 2017; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost to the public purse was of those meetings.

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what meetings the Parliamentary under-Secretary of State had during his visit to the Arab Health Conference in Dubai; and what the (a) purpose and (b) cost to the public purse was of those meetings.

Mr Philip Dunne: My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State did not visit Texas in February 2017. The former Parliamentary under Secretary of State (Nicola Blackwood) attended the Arab Health Conference on 30 and 31 January 2017 to promote British business, in order to help achieve the Prime Minister’s stated goal of close collaboration and partnership in healthcare. The Minister held meetings with a number Government Ministers and officials from the United Arab Emirates, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, and engaged with representatives from numerous British companies, trade bodies and healthcare suppliers as part of the conference. Further information on Ministerial overseas visits and meetings, including costs, is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-external-meetings-2017

Department of Health: Incentives

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many officials in his Department received a performance-related pay bonus and (b) what the cost of those bonuses was to the public purse in each of the last five years for which figures are available.

Mr Philip Dunne: Non-consolidated performance related pay is only paid to reward excellence, for example to recognise and incentivise those responsible for delivering high quality public services and savings to the taxpayer. These one-off payments are not pensionable. The table below shows how many officials in the Department received a performance related payment and the cost of those payments in each of the last five complete financial years. Senior Civil Servants (SCS)Delegated Grades (AO to Grade 6)Total Cost*YearHeadcountCostHeadcountCostHeadcountCost201636£ 381,664410£ 396,868446£ 778,532201540£ 434,744351£ 335,705391£ 770,449201437£ 405,000386£ 373,857423£ 778,857201346£ 495,082404£ 388,378450£ 883,460201246£ 388,450503£ 487,566549£ 876,016 Note: *End of year non-consolidated performance related payments paid in each of the financial years relates to performance in the previous year.

Health Services: Standards

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he plans to renew the NHS Outcomes Framework for 2017-18.

Steve Brine: There are no plans to change the current set of indicators used for the NHS Outcomes Framework for 2017-18.

Healthcare Assistants

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many healthcare assistants were employed by the NHS in each year since 2010.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and the following table shows healthcare assistants employed in the National Health Service in England at 30 September 2010 to 2016. Data for March 2017 is also provided as this is the latest available.NHS Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): Healthcare assistants employed in NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England as at 30 September each specified year and latest data as at 31 March 2017.YearNumber of Healthcare Assistants (full-time equivalent)  September - 2010105,962September - 2011103,061September - 2012101,122September - 2013105,031September - 2014107,278September - 2015111,412September - 2016114,296March - 2017115,591Source: NHS Digital, Provisional NHS HCHS monthly workforce statistics Healthcare assistants include those coded as healthcare assistants, nursing assistants/auxiliaries and nursing assistant practitioners working in the area of Nursing and Midwifery, Ambulance and Scientific, Therapeutic and Technical staff.

Whittington Hospital

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether he has received representations from members of the public on the future of Professor Malone Lee's Urology Clinic at the Whittington Hospital.

Mr Philip Dunne: A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has identified 27 items of correspondence from members of the public received since July 2015 about the closure/future of Professor Malone Lee's Urology Clinic at the Whittington Hospital. This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

Disabled: Finance

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will discuss with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union making available funds no longer required for EU budget payments from 2019-20 for projects exclusively to support disabled people.

Jackie Doyle-Price: The Government is determined to make a success of leaving the European Union and will continue to seek opportunities to improve outcomes for disabled people and support them to live independent and fulfilling lives. On this matter, as with all issues related to exiting the EU, this Department is considering all of the available options to ensure that we deliver the best deal for those who use health and social care services. The Government is united in its ambition to deliver a successful withdrawal from the EU and Departments will work together to deliver this.

NHS: Reorganisation

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress he is making on implementing NHS sustainability and transformation plans.

Steve Brine: The publication of ‘Next Steps on the Five Year Forward View’ marked the evolution of the Sustainability and Transformation Plans into Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs), as local areas develop the means to deliver the plans and build partnerships between local organisations. STPs are the NHS’s own plan for delivering the ‘Five Year Forward View’. The Government was clear that it will back STPs where they are clinically led and locally supported. However, no substantial reconfiguration will occur without public consultation and there are long standing processes in place to ensure that happens. A dashboard will be published shortly showing key metrics for each STP, which will enable the public to compare progress in each area.

NHS: Buildings

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will publish the full list of NHS estates under consideration for sale under the recommendations of the Naylor Review, the estimated value of each such site and a breakdown of the location of those sites; and whether each such site is currently being used for patient care.

Mr Philip Dunne: NHS Property and Estates: why the estate matters for patients (the Naylor Review) is an independent report prepared for the Department and published on 31 March 2017. The report is available on the Department’s website at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nhs-property-and-estates-naylor-review The Government is giving careful consideration to the Review’s recommendations and will respond fully in due course. The Review did not identify specific surplus National Health Service land and buildings nor recommend the sale of specific sites. It identified the variation in efficiency with which NHS organisations use their land and buildings and quantified the opportunity if relatively poor performers increased their efficiency up to benchmark. We are engaging with the NHS to refine the benchmarks and enable them to identify opportunities to support delivery of the Department’s existing aims to release land no longer required by the NHS sufficient for 26,000 and to generate up to £2 billion of proceeds for reinvestment in healthcare facilities and services. It is for local NHS land owners to determine whether land and buildings are no longer needed for patient care and available for disposal, as part of the development of local plans by sustainability and transformation partnerships.NHS Digital undertakes an annual collection of data from individual NHS organisations on the land and property that they have deemed surplus to the delivery of healthcare. The latest data are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/nhs-surplus-land-financial-year-2016-to-2017-england